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Gaskal · 11-15-2018, 10:44 AM

I think some of the goals labelled as bad or questionable fall into one of 3 reasons (all loosely related):

1.) Smith is playing too far back in his net.
2.) Goalie equipment changes in the last few years.
3.) The effect of Father Time.

This is a playstyle you can get away with if you're a big goalie and have cat-like reflexes. You absolutely have to have an outstanding glove and blocker because you are relying on your mitts and your hand-eye coordination more than your skating and ability to read the shooter.

Also with the changes to goalie equipment, playing back further in your net means even more net exposed now, and goalies are still feeling out the new chest protectors. A lot of shots have been sneaking in the armpits. But again, this can be remedied by challenging the shooter, cutting down the angle more and giving him more chest to shoot at.

There is also the concerning trend that Mike Smith has not been able to put together consecutive quality starts for a very long time, dating back to last season.

https://www.hockey-reference.com/pla.../gamelog/2019/
https://www.hockey-reference.com/pla.../gamelog/2018/

If you look at the 2018 logs especially, he starts dropping off in both consistency and performance about two weeks even before he got the groin injury against the Islanders. I think this is aging kicking in. You can probably get the occasional great performance from him this season if he's rested mentally and physically, but not if you ride him like the starter he was last year.

11-15-2018, 10:44 AM	#85
Gaskal Franchise Player Join Date: Nov 2013 Exp:	I think some of the goals labelled as bad or questionable fall into one of 3 reasons (all loosely related): 1.) Smith is playing too far back in his net. 2.) Goalie equipment changes in the last few years. 3.) The effect of Father Time. This is a playstyle you can get away with if you're a big goalie and have cat-like reflexes. You absolutely have to have an outstanding glove and blocker because you are relying on your mitts and your hand-eye coordination more than your skating and ability to read the shooter. Also with the changes to goalie equipment, playing back further in your net means even more net exposed now, and goalies are still feeling out the new chest protectors. A lot of shots have been sneaking in the armpits. But again, this can be remedied by challenging the shooter, cutting down the angle more and giving him more chest to shoot at. There is also the concerning trend that Mike Smith has not been able to put together consecutive quality starts for a very long time, dating back to last season. https://www.hockey-reference.com/pla.../gamelog/2019/ https://www.hockey-reference.com/pla.../gamelog/2018/ If you look at the 2018 logs especially, he starts dropping off in both consistency and performance about two weeks even before he got the groin injury against the Islanders. I think this is aging kicking in. You can probably get the occasional great performance from him this season if he's rested mentally and physically, but not if you ride him like the starter he was last year. __________________ Until the Flames make the Western Finals again, this signature shall remain frozen.