Quote:
Originally Posted by New Era
For comparison sake, what are the Oilers' high danger chances? They have to be worse than the Flames. How do those compare?
The real issue here is Mike Smith is not a goaltender that can survive in this system. He needs a system that is extremely structured that builds a massive shell around him and allows him to make the easy save, then have the rebounds cleared. In the Flames' system, he has to play strong positionally, which is a weakness, has to control his rebounds, which is a weakness, and has to be able to cover ice post-to-post, which is a weakness. The one area he is really strong is puck handling, and that is not a requirement of this system. Smith is a goaltender that doesn't fit in our system, and in reality has watch the game pass him by.
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Not sure I agree.
Smith is a middle of the pack goaltender. That means he has warts, but he's not generally the reason you lose.
The Flames are a possession team that carries the play to a large degree, but they are aggressive in trying to keep the attack going and with that they seem to be giving up too much on the counter attack.
Last season Smith was 33rd on the easy ones, 2nd on the medium difficulty saves and 15th on the high danger.
That doesn't suggest a goaltender that needs to be protected, if any thing he was iffy on the ones from further out.
He is what he is. An average goaltender. The Flames have the roster to be better in front of an average goaltender but they haven't been.
The Oilers ... 11th in high danger against per 60. But they are low in CF% suggesting they are spending more time in their zone, and with that they won't be countered on as much because they're not really attacking all that much.