Quote:
Originally Posted by squiggs96
There are 50 NHL goalies that have qualified to be in the GAA stat. Rittich is 12th overall with 2.56 and Smith is 29th with 2.92. As a tandem, they are 2.80. That 2.80 looks a lot closer to 2.92 than it does to 2.56. It's almost like Smith's play is bringing Rittich's number down when they are teamed up. Smith has a worse GAA than Markstrom, Koskinen, Domingue, etc. Rittich is behind guys like Lehner, Rinne, and Price. Somehow everyone besides Lehner and Campbell are behind McElhinney, but that's a story for another day.
Saying that Smith can't be that bad because they are 8th together is disingenuous. That's like saying Brent Gretzky must have been pretty good, as between him and Wayne they have the most points between two siblings in the NHL. They have 827 points more than the Sedins, and since the Sedins are very good, Brent must also be good.
Mike Smith has not been good this year. He has had a few games where he has been good, but his performance over the year has been subpar. He is costing the Flames wins. On the other hand Rittich has played very well. He has had some poor games, but he is winning them games that other goalies can't. Smith thinks he handles the puck like Gaudreau. He has cost his team multiple goals this year because of his poor decision making and poor puck handling. For every game like the first NYI game, he has many more like last night where he could just leave the puck and try and stop when it's directed at him. He's already having a hard enough time with that one.
Rittich is 22-5-5 with a .913 SV% and 2.56 GAA
Smith is 19-12-2 with a .895 SV% and 2.92 GAA
That's not a great tandem. That's a great goalie with a subpar backup.
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Your argument is irrelevant if they win, and they just won 7 out of 8 games. Give the negative nelly crap a rest.
Every player has an off night, or stretch..... even the best players in any sport.
The team is doing good, and most members on this forum just cry as if they were the freaking Oilers.