[Flash Walken]

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...

Great post.