Game Day Notebook - 23.12.25

EDMONTON — One more game before the break.

And a Battle of Alberta, to boot.

The Flames go in search of a fourth win in their past five games against their provincial rivals tonight at Rogers Place.

To get you set, we've put together this Game Day Notebook!

Of Wolf And Man

Dustin Wolf occupied the starter's crease at Tuesday's optional morning skate, a hint that he's likely to get the go in goal this evening, after Devin Cooley picked up the win Saturday against Vegas.

Since Dec. 4, Wolf is 5-1-0 over his last six starts, a run that includes a 28-save shutout against Utah, and a 21-save performance this past Thursday versus Seattle in his last outing.

Wolf is 1-0-1 in his career versus Edmonton and 22-5-6 in his career against Pacific Division opponents.

He's also two appearances shy of 100 for his NHL career.

Connor's Corner

Winger Connor Zary is coming off a career-best three-assist performance Saturday, but when asked about it following Tuesday's morning skate, the focus was more on what he can do next, beginning tonight against the Oilers.

"I'm just trying to play my game, worry about what I can do, and control what I can control," the forward said. "So I think when you have a night like that, it feels good, you're doing the right thing.

"So, I think (I'm) just trying to build off that and continue."

He's found a home on a line with Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman - the trio have been an inseparable forward unit since being reunited Nov. 18.

Each of the three sit among the eight Flames skaters with six or more points in the month of December - four of Zary's half-dozen have come in the last three games.

But Zary has also been around long enough to know all about the provincial bragging rights at stake this evening.

"it's a big game for us, right before Christmas break here, and we gotta come and play a good, hard road game," he said."It's the Battle of Alberta, and that, I think, gets everyone up a little bit extra.

"I think it'll be exciting for us tonight."

PK Prowess

Joel Farabee is getting to know all about the Battle of Alberta, too, with tonight's game marking his third such matchup since landing in Calgary last winter.

"It feels a lot like Philly and Pittsburgh when I was playing out East," the former Flyer said. "Same kind of vibe, and, you know, we embrace the challenge. We love coming here.

"I thought the first game of the season, it was awesome energy. So, (we) expect the same tonight."

Farabee is up to nine goals on the season - and Saturday's beauty against the Golden Knights was already his third short-handed marker of the campaign.

And while he and his PK mates aren't over-extending to seek out scoring opportunities, Farabee figures his group's style of play lends itself to fast-break chances against unsuspecting powerplays.

"I just feel like with how aggressive we are, we're able to get some breakdowns and get some 2-on-1s and things like that," he explained. "It's almost like a momentum killer if you're able to get a goal on the kill."

Calgary's penalty-kill has been clicking at an 88.1% success rate since Nov. 19 - the third-best efficiency in the NHL - but Farabee and Co. are well aware they'll be challenged by Edmonton's League-best powerplay tonight, if and when those opportunities arise.

But as a group, the PK units feel good.

And Farabee is ready to embrace one last challenge before the holiday break.

"The penalty-kill is something that all the guys are confident in now," he said. "I think the first month of the season, maybe it was a little difficult because we switched it up a little bit.

"Now, I think we kind of know exactly what's going on and yeah, we feel good about it."