Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
Rittich started nine games in December, which represented a 2:1 ratio of the games. If he starts three out of four games for the duration of the season he will finish with 51. I believe this will be the high-water mark for him. Over the course of the past five years only three Vezina finalists have recorded fewer than 60 games—Rask played 58 in 2014, Dubnyk played 58 in 2015, and Rinne played 59 last year. I don't think Rittich will get close enough to that number to garner the requisite votes.
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If you really delve into the numbers, Mike Smith was essentially the starter for the first half of December. So the 9 starts is actually pretty low. Personally, I don't see Smith getting a run like that again unless Rittich gets injured (knock on wood). In the final half of the season where the games are really important and the teams behind us are nipping at our heels, I foresee Peters playing his best goaltender which has been Rittich.
So, 26 of 38 isn't a ratio I see happening. It'll probably be closer to 30ish for Rittich. So ultimately, I think he gets close enough to the mid 50's to get in contention. There's also no set rules for voting either, so I don't see anyone taking away votes because he didn't hit a certain number of games. Voters will likely recognize that he was also the back up to start the season and played his way to a starting position.
He's probably still a long shot to be a Vezina finalist, but I can still see him getting votes. If he does though, that'll be a gigantic feather under his cap.