My big issue with what Smith is doing is that it is in no way game breaking in our favor, only in the opponents favor.
I see the point of making life a bit easier for the defensemen by playing the puck, but then he needs to keep it to controlled circumstances where he is able to control puck and time. When he does that it is working fairly well, and it is that play that Rittich is trying to emulate, all well and good.
The plays he insists on doing, like last night, is incredibly high risk and also incredibly low reward, which is so stupid it hurts. Even if he would have managed to play the puck it would not accomplish anything that couldn't have been accomplished even better by a safer play. It's just selfish and stupid and unneccesary, and the fact that he just can't help himself from doing it tells a whole lot about that man, because there is no way he hasn't been told repeatedly to stay away from that crap in close games. He just doesn't care. And I no longer care to see him play another minute for the Flames.
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