I actually feel sorry for Smith. Seems like a really good person with a tonne of pride, and he is an absolute beast of an athlete. I am sure he was really looking forward to wind-down his career on a team that gave him a real chance at a cup.
Two poor goals this outing, but also some damn impressive saves. Flames are still giving up too much defensively at times for my liking, but he covered-up well for them. Just those two stinkers. They just keep happening too often. I think he is both amazing, but untrustworthy. It is really a shame he hasn't been able to just shut-down those bad goals. Flames don't need him to be spectacular all the time, they just need him to be consistently solid - just be a consistently average goalie. That's really what the Flames need.
After saying that, I would hesitatingly start Gillies next game. Why? Some goalies find the NHL easier to play in - you have much better shooters, but the play is less scrambly. They find it easier to read the pucks (IIRC, that was what Leland Irving even said). Maybe Gillies' game is better suited to the NHL than the AHL. There is just no way I would feel comfortable running with Gillies right now as a backup that needs to play ~20 games or so, at least without seeing if he has really regressed or if it is just too much 'scramble' down on the Heat right now. The Heat don't really have anything of note on Defence right now, which may further cloud where Gillies is. I was never so high on Gillies myself (Parsons on the other hand, oh boy! Wish he was another year or two further along in his development). I do think, however, that Gillies might be worth a look.
Other than that, Flames played a decent game. Too many grade A chances against, but the Flames unquestionably in my opinion out-played Boston.
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