Huska defends Flames' response after Oilers forward collides with both goalies
Last night’s Battle of Alberta between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers wasn’t particularly testy, but it still featured several talking points.
It was an ugly outing for the Flames, who not only suffered a 4-0 loss but also lost their suddenly emerging starting goalie, Devin Cooley, to injury.
Cooley was forced to leave after the first period following a heavy collision with Oilers forward Colton Dach. The 23-year-old attempted to drive the net before crashing into the Flames netminder.
Here is the hit on Devin Cooley that caused him to leave the game with a lower body injury.
š„: Prime | #Flames pic.twitter.com/jAfr5cnNeH
— Robert Munnich (@Robert_Munnich) October 29, 2026
Whether intentional or not, Flames fans wanted to see somebody challenge Dach in response. That didn’t happen, prompting further frustration when Dach collided with Dustin Wolf in the third period.
While the collision with Wolf appeared incidental, many were still concerned by the Flames’ lack of response, especially against their biggest rival. Ryan Huska, however, didn’t seem to have an issue with how his team handled the situation.
“I don’t think I’d call it running the goalie,” Huska said regarding both Dach incidents. “The second one, he was knocked in by our player. There’s no intent on either of them. First one, he’s just driving the net.”
Huska on why nobody challenged Dach following his collisions with Cooley and Wolf.
"I don't think I'd call it running a goalie. The second one he was knocked in by our player. There's no intent on either of them. First one he's just driving the net."#Flames https://t.co/4rqDWfIEZl
— Colton Pankiw (@Coltonpankiw) October 29, 2026
Huska further elaborated, making it clear that he’s confident his team would have stepped up had the situation called for it.
“Our team, if there’s a situation where something were to happen that wasn’t the right way, they would be in there, 100 per cent.”
Wolf, thankfully, didn’t seem to be phased following the collision with Dach, and is presumably good to go on Friday night against the Seattle Kraken should Cooley miss time. That said, he seemed to have a different opinion on the incidents surrounding Dach, particularly on the play that forced Cooley to exit the game.
“I think accidents happen, but at the same time he took a pretty good run at Cools when he could have probably hit the brakes,” Wolf said. “It was maybe more of a little tangle up in the third period, but at the same time, you want to protect your own guys. I think we’re going to keep doing that.”
The Flames have yet to provide an update on Cooley, though the 29-year-old seemed to suggest on Instagram that he could miss some time. Brennan Othmann could also be sidelined after leaving the game with an upper-body injury following a first-period fight against Oilers defenceman Ty Emberson.