Before I get flamed-on for what I'm going to say, I will put this part right up front so that I can point to it when the angriest of angry posters ignore it completely and accuse me of being a Smith apologist:
Clearly, there were at least two goals that Smith should have had. He is struggling physically and, seemingly, mentally. He plays far too deep in his net, neutralizing the effectiveness of his size. I don't know if this is all on him or if there's a coaching/positioning-instruction issue too, however, the Flames would not be doing their due-diligence if they didn't look for another goaltender at this point.
Having said this, I will again present my case that--assuming we are a playoff team--we need another solid, strong, net-front-clearing defenceman who can play on the bottom pairing (at least) and in the bottom four D (at best).
Smith's ongoing struggles mask some of our issues on defence because it is all too easy to point fingers at Smith--and rightfully so. Nevertheless, on two of the Bruins' goals tonight, two of our young DMen (Hanifin and Kylington) were caught up ice and out of position. On one other, a young DMan (Andersson) was outmuscled in a net-front battle (deflection goal).
While I think Andersson has been the best of these three young men, he is not a physical player and Kylington is even less-so. A stronger net-front presence is required, IMO.
Hanifin remains a work in progress. His positioning/man-coverage is sometimes horrific (see: New Year's Eve game against SJ). He often flies the zone before we even have full possession of the puck.. While Hamonic is a solid partner for Hanifin, there have been many times where Hamonic and/or Rittich have bailed out Hanifin. Having another strong bottom-four option would, IMO, greatly improve our defence.
Ultimately, I think we have a very good chance to make a deep run in the playoffs. But I also think it's important to acknowledge all of our areas of need, over and above Smith. Right now, I think Smith's struggles are blinding us from some of our other needs and I fear we ignore them at our own peril.
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