Quote:
Originally Posted by Strange Brew
I don't understand the logic of starting your backup after a long break. Rittich will never be more rested than he is now and will likely need rest down the stretch.
I also don't buy the logic that you need to see what you have in Smith. That is as true, and even more so for Rittich.
But Peters has shown he sure knows what he's doing.
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With a perfect storm of this schedule, Washington's recent track record, no Ovi and a score to uphold with Carolina... some could make the case that the game after the break against the Cup Champs is the only backup game until Feb 14.
Unfortunately, that backup is Smith. A good start tonight will give reason to re-calibrate going forward - but if we're going to see a few goofs again tonight the 'stumble coming off the break' narrative will involve his name quite a bit.
This will also be the first decent team Smith has seen since he lost 6-4 against Boston January 3rd as well (.808 on 26 shots). Fingers crossed he's reset and can handle tonight, but it's a gamble I wish we could be avoiding