Quote:
Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus
It's now or never for him at this point anyway. I'd say give him 2-3 starts and see what happens. He can't possibly do any worse than Smith and if he does much better, great. Bye Bye Smith.
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Why is it now or never for Gillies?
Rittich is two years older and is only now figuring out how to be a full time NHL goalie.
Listening to Wills on the radio this morning is nauseating. Not only do we have Stockton's two best defensemen, we also airlift anyone who shows the capacity to score more than two or three goals up to Calgary for extended periods. So Stockton presumably has a ton of trouble defending and a ton of trouble scoring. The goalie doesn't have a part in either.
At this point, it doesn't matter if Gillies comes in and gives up 3 a game so long as they're honest goals. Mike Smith lets in bad goals at the most inopportune times. He's 37. Gillies at least has the excuse that he's young.
All Nick Schneider seems to do is impress when he gets into games. Give him a few looks. When Ryan Miller comes back, Anaheim will likely waive Chad Johnson. Claim him/trade a 7th for him.
There are 41 games left. The Flames really only need to cobble together 10 starts from their backups; that'll put Rittich at 53 GP for the season, leaving him with lots of gas for the playoffs.
Mike Smith can't be starting games for this team anymore. .409 quality start % after last night, compared to Rittich's .650.