Quote:
Originally Posted by powderjunkie
You're just assuming I'm directly attributing regular season workload to that goaltender's performance in the playoffs being the primary reason for a team's elimination. That is not actually my argument (though to be fair I didn't really spell this out).
The vast majority of teams that needs their starter to play 65+ games have significant flaw(s) that will be exposed in 7 game series. It's rarely as simple as 'the backup isn't very good'. Heavy workload is a symptom of a bigger problem, not the root cause.
The prevailing question in this thread seems to be whether this core is good enough to compete in May/June. If the answer is "yes, as long as Rittich plays well for 65+ games", then the answer is actually no. The fact that Peters has only managed to give Talbot the crease 4 times over a comparatively dense 19 game stretch is not a good sign...
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Good point, but let me add a different one.
When the playoffs arrive, how fresh a goaltender is feeling should logically depend more on how much he's played in January-March than how much he's played in October-December.
By that logic, it makes sense to ride your starter at the start of the season and then share the load more in the latter half of the season.
This has the added bonus that you can probably squeeze a few more regular season games out of your starter, and you do that at the time when team defense is usually the shakiest.
If this is the logic Flames are using, we should see Talbot starting more as the season progresses. (This makes even more sense if we consider that Talbot is less familiar with the team to start the season, and that Canadian fans/media are impatient, so getting a good start is beneficial for the atmosphere.)