Quote:
Originally Posted by Macindoc
Smith’s aggressive puck play certainly leads to some goals against, and they are easily identified. What is less easily noticed is how it also breaks up cycles and allows for easier zone exits and quicker transitions, preventing goals that would have occurred if the cycle had been allowed to continue. This is why in spite of both the giveaways and the pucks that inexplicably go through him, Smith and Rittich’s stats are almost identical.
Smith is much better handling the puck when he is confident and moves it quickly, and his positioning is also better. I suspect this is why Peters is trying to get him in a rhythm with regular starts.
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Yeah, only that Smith's and Rittich's stats are nowhere near identical.