Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
I think concerns about “anointing Smith” are overblown. I could see a repeat of what happened in late November, when Smith played most of the games in a two week stretch while Rittich refocused. My guess is that by mid March at the latest Rittich is back to playing three out of every four once again.
This is what you want from your backup goalie: strong performances if your starter is struggling.
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'Anointing' I think just comes from fans and media trying to picture this team going forward. Having a cloud of mystery around your goaltending position feels uneasy, and people just want stable footing. But internally, I'm sure it's game to game and hopefully a collaborative process between the goalies and coaches.
I think with the concerns around BSD, Smith played a great game at a great time for everyone to breathe a touch easier. Understanding how they manage it going forward is fans and media looking for some peace of mind around an area of concern the whole year.
I think the biggest issue is that, outside of this years stats... is Rittich the starter? Or was this Hammond all over again, and we'll need Smith to be more than a backup.
Thankfully, we're having a conversation about Smith I didn't think we'd ever have
