Quote:
Originally Posted by dammage79
How many NHL games prior to this season for either of them? If anything, these disappointments are going to be beneficial in the continuing development these two young goalies. Now they know what it is like to play in the NHL. Now they know what more has to be done to make it full time.
I have more faith in Gillies honestly. the size, the ice cold demeanor akin to that of Kipper, his athleticism has even been full on display yet either. only flashes.
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Difference of opinions I guess, I have no faith in Gillies. When he was drafted all I read and heard was how good he was supposed to be, he's big and athletic. First time I got to watch him was in the World Juniors and he wasn't good at all. He seems to fall under the weight of expectations. I know this is a hard situation for him, but hey, he's 24 so he's gotta be ready sometime. I've read some people talk about his reflexes, but to me they're terrible. That long shot "fluke" against Colorado should never have happened. Just get your body in front of the shot. I get it happens maybe once or twice in a career, so maybe he was unfortunate and it happened on his second start. Also, he has a very, very hard time tracking the puck, and that forces him into making desperate saves, which make it look like he has good reflexes, when good positioning and awareness would allow for a routine comfortable save. He struggled with another long shot tonight -- the first shot of the game if I remember right. His stats that someone posted before the game surprised me as I didn't think they were that good, but that's a 3 game sample size. Much like the rest of the team this year, he hasn't passed the eye test (for me). And that first goal, while inexcusable that the players let a guy be first to the puck, shouldn't have happened either. Either hold onto it in the first place, or cover it up. He lost the puck and it dropped straight in front of him, and by the time he noticed it was too late.
I am most disappointed in Rittich though, I really thought he was going to run with this opportunity, and he hasn't, which has forced us into using Gillies. Really unfortunate neither goalie wanted to take the opportunity and run with it.
I don't mean to pile on the goalies, because the whole team hasn't helped them out. I don't even think they were terrible tonight, sometimes losses like these just happen. The problem is they were dog#### so many other nights earlier in the season (the whole season really) that now they're forced to play desperate hockey, and the way the game is, sometimes you lose the ones where you play good (i.e. a hot goalie). Curtis Lazar said something that really bugged me in a video segment they did, he said "we want to get hot at the right time". F that. You play every game to win, whether it's the first or last. The Flames thought they could just turn it on when they really needed to, now look where they are.