The Calgary Flames are clashing with the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday evening in the first Battle of Alberta of the 2026-27 campaign. But they’ll potentially have to finish off the game without goaltender Devin Cooley, as he left the game after the first period.

Cooley was in net to begin the game, making his fifth consecutive start for the Flames. However, Cooley was crashed into by Edmonton forward Colton Dach with 12 seconds remaining in the first period. Dach was given a goaltender interference minor by the officials for the collision. Cooley’s right leg awkwardly collided with the post of the net during the collision, while his left leg folded under him as he fell backward into the net.

Cooley finished off the first period, but Dustin Wolf was in net to begin the second period. Per Sportsnet’s Eric Francis, who’s on the road at Rogers Place, Cooley was not on the bench in Edmonton – as backup goaltenders usually are, and travelling emergency backup goaltender Dustin Nickel had left his usual perch in the press box.

The 29-year-old Cooley is in his second season with the Flames, and third in the Flames organization, after signing with the club as a free agent during the 2024 off-season. Cooley has been one of the most fun stories in the National Hockey League to begin the 2026-27 season, bouncing back from a rough night on Oct. 8 against Colorado where he allowed seven goals to go on a really superb run of play. Going into Wednesday’s game, Cooley had won four in a row and was the NHL’s reigning second star of the week.

In addition to being a very good goaltender, Cooley is one of the more fascinating, curious and upbeat people in the league, frequently discussing such diverse topics as mathematics, philosophy and psychology during media interviews.

The team announced during the second period that Cooley, with a lower body injury, and forward Brennan Othmann, with an upper body injury, are done for the evening. (Othmann landed awkwardly during a first period fight with Edmonton’s Ty Emberson.)

As this this writing, the Flames are trailing the Oilers by a 2-0 score as of the middle of the second period.

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