Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Mike Smith's... woes? He blows? Eating crows? Who knows! (Also David Rittich exists!)

Enoch Root · 02-23-2019, 09:00 AM

This thread is unbelievable. Anyway...

There is no question that Smith has been playing better recently than he was earlier in the season. Indisputable, no matter how you feel about him. However, even with that, I was always uncomfortable with three things:

how far back in the net he plays
his constricted ability to slide post to post
and the lunging style

What has been really encouraging to me in the last couple games, and especially last night, is that even these things seem to be improving.

His positioning has looked much better. Earlier, even when he was playing well, I cringed on every opponent's shot because I never liked his positioning. There were far too many tip-ins because he was just too far back in his net and not in a good position to cut off angles and reduce the available space for tips, passing plays, etc. He looks much better positionally now.

Impossible to comment on the ability to move post to post, but with the better positional play, it has seemed to be less noticeable lately. Without any knowledge of his situation on this, all I can say is I hope that continues.

Finally, he seems to be doing that horrible lunging thing less lately. I hate that technique and think it should be burned with fire. Again, I assume it is because of better positioning, but we seem to be seeing less of it in the last couple games.

Some people hate that he goes out to handle the puck. As a defenseman, I never liked goalies handling the puck, it was too unpredictable, but Smith is so good at it, he clearly helps the D. And I'll take the words of multiple coaches over fans when it comes to assessing how valuable that is.

So if he can continue to play better positionally, I think that is a huge plus for the team.

As for Rittich, despite Smith's improved play, I am surprised they haven't given him any work in quite a while. He needs to be managed, just as Smith does. The fact that they haven't played him at all hints to the possibility that he has a bit of a nagging injury and they are taking advantage of Smith's resurgence to give Rittich a bit of a break. I hope that is what's happening.

Bottom line: the Flames need good goaltending, and Smith has been good lately. And getting better with each outing. I want to see Rittich get a couple games now, to see if we can get his A game back as well.

As for who starts in the playoffs, let's play the final 20 games to see how it shakes out.

02-23-2019, 09:00 AM	#1312
Enoch Root Franchise Player Join Date: May 2012 Exp:	This thread is unbelievable. Anyway... There is no question that Smith has been playing better recently than he was earlier in the season. Indisputable, no matter how you feel about him. However, even with that, I was always uncomfortable with three things: how far back in the net he plays his constricted ability to slide post to post and the lunging style What has been really encouraging to me in the last couple games, and especially last night, is that even these things seem to be improving. His positioning has looked much better. Earlier, even when he was playing well, I cringed on every opponent's shot because I never liked his positioning. There were far too many tip-ins because he was just too far back in his net and not in a good position to cut off angles and reduce the available space for tips, passing plays, etc. He looks much better positionally now. Impossible to comment on the ability to move post to post, but with the better positional play, it has seemed to be less noticeable lately. Without any knowledge of his situation on this, all I can say is I hope that continues. Finally, he seems to be doing that horrible lunging thing less lately. I hate that technique and think it should be burned with fire. Again, I assume it is because of better positioning, but we seem to be seeing less of it in the last couple games. Some people hate that he goes out to handle the puck. As a defenseman, I never liked goalies handling the puck, it was too unpredictable, but Smith is so good at it, he clearly helps the D. And I'll take the words of multiple coaches over fans when it comes to assessing how valuable that is. So if he can continue to play better positionally, I think that is a huge plus for the team. As for Rittich, despite Smith's improved play, I am surprised they haven't given him any work in quite a while. He needs to be managed, just as Smith does. The fact that they haven't played him at all hints to the possibility that he has a bit of a nagging injury and they are taking advantage of Smith's resurgence to give Rittich a bit of a break. I hope that is what's happening. Bottom line: the Flames need good goaltending, and Smith has been good lately. And getting better with each outing. I want to see Rittich get a couple games now, to see if we can get his A game back as well. As for who starts in the playoffs, let's play the final 20 games to see how it shakes out. Last edited by Enoch Root; 02-23-2019 at 09:02 AM.