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Originally Posted by IliketoPuck
Again, though, a one game sample size to formulate an opinion is not a very reasonable place to start a serious debate. Never mind that the Flames did not play the same team twice in a row, or that the effort as a team, and quality of competition, varied wildly between those two games. You are also relying (in isolation) on Mike Smith stopping 31 of 32 at even strength. He let in 4 goals. Rittich let in 6 against Tampa. And the even strength quality of chances Rittich faced in Tampa were substantially superior to those faced by Smith, it’s not even close. If you disagree, please explain.
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That is entirely subjective and debatable. But it bears pointing out that the only reason I brought up the Pittsburgh game is because it was ignored in an evaluation by a poster who is notoriously biased in the discussion of the Flames goalies:
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Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache
...I just don’t see anything Smith has faced that was remotely like Tampa (who has scored 5+ in 22 of their last 41), in terms of offense and in terms of the Flames basically being destroyed by a greatly superior opponent.
Washington had to sit Ovechkin, and still got 4. Florida is not a good team. Arizona looked barely like a NHL team.
I think it’s arguably as simple as this. If Smith got the Tampa game, the stats aren’t close and there is no ‘controversy’
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Originally Posted by IliketoPuck
...The Rittich vs. Smith debate isn’t a debate. Rittich is, and has been, the better goalie by far this season. It isn’t even close. The eye test supports it, the underlying numbers support it, and his record supports it. If not for some pretty awful efforts by his team mates vs. SJ and Tampa, Rittich’s SV% is still between .915 and .920.
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On the first part, I agree. Rittich has been the better goalie, and I believe he will be the goalie who the Flames will win with in the playoffs.
But then you attempt to bolster your argument by exaggerating the "quality" argument in favour of Rittich. Rittich allowed a bad goal in the home game v. SJ, and then made another mistake that also resulted in a goal. It was a bad performance. It happens to every goalie, but for some reason a few posters continue to go out of their way to forgive him for them. Why can't we all just acknowledge that Rittich has not played especially well of late? Why can't we all recognize that he needs to be better?
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Mike Smith has provided bottom tier goal tending for over a calendar year. He is 36. But to listen to Wills, and many of you here, he has suddenly discovered the fountain of youth by winning 2 of his last three games against the murderers row of Florida, Pittsburgh, and Arizona. Despite routinely making saves look far more difficult than they have to be
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And then you follow that up with this. Not only is Rittich forgiven for "awful efforts by his teammates," Smith is then denigrated for somehow turning in an acceptable performance in spite of himself. This is precisely the bias that I have been attempting to call out in this discussion. It's ridiculous.