Quote:
Originally Posted by activeStick
Ryan Pinder had an interesting theory yesterday during the Boomer and Warrener morning show that the Flames have always had Rittich as the number one of the two goalies but have been playing Smith the amount they have to try and get Smith's game back, which has seemed to help him to a small degree. With the fight now for top spot back since the Sharks have made up ground, he'd expect Rittich to be played like the number one now until the end of the season. I guess we'll see!
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I don't think this theory holds any water. Mike Smith was the starting goalie at the beginning of the year, and his backup entered the season with 20 NHL games on his resumé. I think the simplest explanation of the coaching staff's decision-making for their goalies is really straightforward:
1. Smith was bad at the start of the year, and his poor performance opened the door for his backup to start more games.
2. Rittich was excellent for a long stretch of games, and effectively earned equal starting-time as a result.
3. As Rittich's play levelled off and Smith's improved, his starts were slightly scaled back and Smith's were increased.
4. Flames coaches are undecided between their two goalies who their starter is and who it will be when the playoffs begin, and will evaluate over the course of the remaining 14 games.
Having said all that, I expect Rittich to play the most games of the remaining 14, and to start Game #1 in the playoffs. While I think the coaches have been eager to get Smith to a better level of performance, the plan for a long time now has been to start the goalie who looks the best when the time comes.