Wolf's Sophomore Slump: Flames' Playoff Hopes Fade

0:00It's April 7th. This is NHL News Today, AI-powered updates on your team. I'm Cory with the story. Calgary Flames came into the 2025-26 season with super low expectations and they're delivering with a 32-36. Eight record. After almost sneaking into the playoffs last year, folks figured they'd regress and that's exactly what's happened. The big story here is, Goldie Dustin Wolf hitting a major sophomore slump after a killer rookie campaign. Wolf lit it up as a rookie with a 2.64 goals against average, a 0.910, safe percentage, and 29 wins in 53. Games finishing second and call their voting. This year though, in 54 appearances, he's at 3.07 goals against and 0.895 saves way off his pace and even. Behind Backup Demon Cooley. Fans aren't totally down, many are cool with the losses because it sets them up for a high draft pick this June, which could rebuild the young roster.

1:00Big time. Still, Wolfslide has folks worried, especially since the teams inexperienced, but showed promised last season with more vets and scoring. Cooley's numbers tell the tale 2.63 goals against and 0.913 saves in 29 games, proving it's not just the defense, in front. Goalies are tough to predict league-wide, only a few elites like Vasilevsky or hella bike stayed dominant year after year. Wolf's got a lead potential for top 10 stretches, but expecting him to lock in that rarefied air might be a stretch. For Flamespans, this rough patch could spark the reset they need long term.