Quote:
Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
The team has been sloppy defensively of late for sure and that includes the top pairing. That said this game was a pretty typical Smith outing. Some really good saves mixed in with some goals let in that plenty of NHL goaltenders routinely stop.
I'm really at the point with Smith where if they win when he starts it's a bonus. Not going to even bother overly critiquing his play as this is what you are going to get from him every night now. I'm just happy the team overcame the stoppable goals surrendered to their opponent. Long term this is not a recipe for success but in the mean time as long as they win I'm happy.
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Fortunately for you the Flames usually win when Smith starts.
I thought he was okay. I didn’t like the first goal, but it is difficult to be too critical of the goalie defending against a long 5v3. I thought he looked really good in the first period leading up to the goal.
What I think is clear is that this is how the Flames will play out the season and enter the playoffs—David Rittich will get most of the starts, and Mike Smith will play every third or fourth game. It has worked exceptionally well through nearly 50 games so far. I don’t see much incentive for management to make changes.
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