Quote:
Originally Posted by Nelson
I think there were some great games in there and some not so great games. However, I can't remember the games well enough to comment on the circumstances that produced Rittich's inconsistency.
I'll disregard the games where Rittich didn't face a significant amount of shots.
> or = to .915 => 10 starts
> or = to .900 => 11 starts
< or = to .900 => 5 starts
< or = to .800 => 2 starts
Mar 24, SJS -> .838
Mar 9, Ott -> .967
Mar 7, Buff -> .962
Feb 28, Colo -> .879
Feb 21, Vgk -> .731
Feb 19, Bos -> .938
Feb 17, Fla -> .733
Feb 15, Nsh - > .906
Feb 13, Bos -> .897
Feb 8, Njd -> .938
Jan 25, Edm -> .919
Jan 12, Fla -> .953
Dec 28, Sjs -> .938
Dec 17, Van -> .941
Dec 7, Mtl -> .946
Nov 25, Col -> .923
So I guess in 16 games in which he faced a decent number of shots, Rittich gave the team pretty decent numbers. 10/16 times he was over .915. He did have 2 disastrous games but in general was much more likely to be good.
Perhaps I'm wrong about not trusting Rittich. Thanks for the post.
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Seeing the SV% per game puts things in perspective. The 2 really bad games (<0.800), and 3 subpar games (<0.900) really took a toll on Rittich's SV% and GAA.
In terms of quality starts (QS) Rittich was 18th in the entire league (62.5% of his starts being quality starts). Smith was 30th in quality starts (58.2%) for comparison albeit playing tougher teams.
A good goalie in the NHL has a QS over 60%.
Rittich did fine in his first year with Flames. His "trial by fire" stint as a starter when Smith went down was a terrific learning experience for him.
Expect further growth in his game this year.
If you remove Feb 11-March 11 period when Smith injured. As a backup during season Rittich only had one subpar start right at end of season when things were falling apart for the entire team.
No reason to find a backup goalie. We dont have cap space to spare anyways.