Quote:
Originally Posted by Itse
Just in general it feels like the team has done everything it can to make goaltending a hot talking point every damned game, which in itself has to be nerve wrecking.
So to me, it's a small wonder Rittich has been able to keep it together as well as he has.
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I disagree. I would suggest the way Rittich has skyrocketed (until recently) is largely due to how Peters has handled the goaltending this season. We started the season with Smith as the number 1 or at least the 1A. As each goalie performed the splits shifted to Rittich.
The starts have been split up between Rittich / Smith as follows:
OCT: 4 / 9 (4 straight for Smith to start)
NOV: 8 / 6
DEC: 9 / 5
JAN: 7 / 4
FEB: 3 / 1
So far through February they've gone to a 1A / 1B combo a bit, which also coincides with Rittich struggling a bit. Remember he was getting criticized a lot for those soft late goals in January.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Rittich get 6 more this month and Smith 3.
As for the amount of "rope" each goalie gets, it's been pointed out a couple times recently but typically a backup goalie won't get pulled because he's specifically playing to give the starter a night off. See Vegas keeping Subban in all game when we massacred them. Starters get pulled more often as a result.