Unfortunately, my side of the fence will likely diminish my perceived impartiality - but I've walked away from games Smith started in thinking "thankfully we started Smith" far less often than I've thought the opposite.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
From everything we have seen it is most likely that Smith will continue to win at least as many games as he loses. All season long he has had some really high-end performances amid some terrible ones—I see no reason to expect that he suddenly now be nothing but awful from here forward, [...]
|
Smith played well 12/6 and 12/8 and then followed up the next 2 with sharts. That's 50/50, and his record ahead of those 4 games is a checkered past of complete failures and the team limiting dangerous scoring opportunities. Tonight will be his opportunity to prove your first statement right, but up to his last 4 starts I would not say that Smith was likely to win at least as many games as he lost.
Back-breaking goals matter. Being forced (Rittich SJ game included) to score in bunches matters. The big saves matters. Smith has not been a reliable goalie this year, and it's not an insistence to say bad things about Smith that fuels that. It's come up on Tim & Sid, I've watched a Leafs podcast talk about it, and it's a topic if the Flames ever come up elsewhere. It's pretty clear that Mike Smith is not playing very well. And at 36yo with an injury that is relevant enough to wonder about... it doesn't take a hockey legend to think that there might be a problem here.
I will get on-board the Mike Smith train when he's playing well, I promise. But right now, I'm on the 'let's see if other options give us better results' train.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
and it is laughable to suggest that the Flames's #3 goalie with worse numbers in an inferior league will be an upgrade.
|
Frankly, I find it laughable that you think Mike Smith hasn't been awful this whole time... let alone 'from here on forward'.
I don't care who the backup goalie is, and his stats in the AHL don't get me all excited either... but I'd like to try anything that could give us a better chance to win than Smith does. If it's not Gillies, so be it.
But until it's Smith, it's not Smith. I'm not so worried about Smith's life journey that I'm willing to give up many more points for him to find his way.