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Old 02-11-2019, 06:06 PM   #21
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Chicago won the cup with Antti Niemi... I think Rittich is at least as good as Niemi...


Absolutely true, but that Hawks team fronting him was as good as any team in the Cap era.

Insane depth.

Most of us could have back stopped that team.


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Old 02-11-2019, 06:10 PM   #22
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Yeah, Rittich's biggest weakness is that he has a back up that routinely looks like a beer leaguer, throwing his whole body at pucks because he never had a read on it in the first place.

He's done at the NHL level after this season and would be done already if it weren't for the large contract obligation. Peters is desperately just putting Smith in for back to backs and pure basement teams.

Rittich would benefit greatly from a decent back up that could push him for starts and allow some games off to rest and not see such a dramatic rise in games played this early in his NHL career.
I am rolling my eyes with as much exaggeration as I can muster at this post.

1. Rittich's "biggest weakness(es)" have nothing to do with his goaltending partner. He possibly has some responsive issues on the short side, and his handling of the puck could stand to improve.

2. Smith is not just "desperately" scraping by on games in back-to-back situations. Everything about how Peters has handled his goalies this year would indicate that there is a schedule of starts with Rittich getting somewhere between 2/3 or 3/4.

3. Rittich is in no danger whatsoever of getting worn down unless the coaches somehow foolishly decided that he is starting every one of the remaining 27 games. At present, he looks on pace to finish the year in around the range of 55-games, with or without Mike Smith on the roster.

4. There is no reason to think that changing out the backup goalie will do anything to affect Rittich's performance either positively or negatively. Where on the one hand it might help to "push" him, on the other hand there is the real possibility that he could struggle if the chemistry he has built with Smith over the course of nearly two full years is in any way altered.
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Old 02-11-2019, 06:11 PM   #23
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League average save percentage in 2010 was .911. Niemi was above that. He wasn't bad at all.

This year league average is .908. Rittich is .915. He's been perfectly serviceable. If he plays more or less like he has and doesn't have any major slumps, he'll be okay. That being said, I still would be more comfortable (were I Treliving) picking up someone at the deadline who can, in a pinch, look like an NHL starter if Rittich gets hurt or turns into a pumpkin later on in the year.
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Old 02-11-2019, 06:51 PM   #24
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I’ve been concerned about his performance sliding for a while. He hasn’t been bad - the majority of goals are ‘not his fault’, but the difference between .920+ and .910 is a few ‘he had no business making that save’ saves. We saw more of those earlier in the season.

I like the quality and bad start metrics as a short hand way to judge play and am comforted that he is pretty stable in that department.

Some see the deference between .910 and .920 as a result of the Flames holding Vancouver to zero shots for half a period then when they finally gave up a shot, it is a giving a sniper like Boeser time and space, with a nice pass across the Royal Road.

It takes mental strength and focus to play behind a team that can suppress shots for long periods of time
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Old 02-11-2019, 06:53 PM   #25
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Is David Rittich the Flames (sic) weakness? No. That's about as click bait of a headline as one could write.


Is Mike Smith this year's Glen Gulutzan? Basically, yes.
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Old 02-11-2019, 07:04 PM   #26
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Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague View Post
League average save percentage in 2010 was .911. Niemi was above that. He wasn't bad at all.

This year league average is .908. Rittich is .915. He's been perfectly serviceable. If he plays more or less like he has and doesn't have any major slumps, he'll be okay. That being said, I still would be more comfortable (were I Treliving) picking up someone at the deadline who can, in a pinch, look like an NHL starter if Rittich gets hurt or turns into a pumpkin later on in the year.


He was .912 in the regular season, .910 in the playoffs.

Based on save %, he was league average.


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Old 02-11-2019, 11:40 PM   #27
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I think Rittich has had a good season...he deserves to continue to be the starter

I do worry about putting all the seasons eggs in his basket though. He has faltered in the past with the pressure on and really we have no idea what he is yet.

Smith is done, Flames need a quality backup that can push Rittich. Get Talbot, if the Oilers won't trade him to you involve another team.
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Old 02-12-2019, 01:27 AM   #28
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I think Rittich has been playing worse - still making some big saves, but some iffy goals are getting by him. I do think that this is a product of the poor defensive game that Calgary has been playing, however. Flames need to tighten-up in their own end - if you can't play strong defence, you don't usually go very far in the playoffs regardless of how good at scoring you are. The old adage that defence wins champions usually apply. Flames absolutely need to provide a lot more support regardless of who is in net.


However, I am thinking Rittich does shore-up his game in the next stretch. How he responds in the playoffs is another question - a rather big question, IMO.


The playoffs are just a totally different animal. So much more pressure and scrutiny. He will be facing the same team over and over again - the opposing team gets to know his tendencies, they will get in his face and test him, game after game... just a totally different animal than the regular season. Can he handle that? My guess is yes. However, we don't know until he goes through it.


At least Mike Smith does know firsthand what a long playoff series entails. He hasn't won a cup, but he has experience. It is at least somewhat reassuring that he will be there to help focus Rittich, even if he isn't the most trusted goalie to step in. There is at least some reassurance in that, at least for me. Rittich often talks with Smith during the TV timeouts and such, and I think that is helpful.


However, it wouldn't surprise me if the depth move Treliving makes before the deadline is for another goalie. I tried to figure out who might be available from the teams that are out of it, and there really isn't much to upgrade on from Smith. Hopefully Treliving finds someone, as it can be reassuring, but then it could impact the room and chemistry there. Tough spot.


This is where I am thankful that the Flames will probably not blow all their savings on one single playoff run. This playoffs should really show where this team needs to add, especially in net. Parsons can't develop fast enough! I really believe he is at or near the same tier of goaltending prospect as Carter Hart - time will tell how good and how quickly he will develop. It is going to be interesting to see how Rittich does through this stretch drive and into the playoffs though - but if the Flames don't tighten-up defensively and give whatever goalie is playing more support, it won't matter too much who is in net. That's the key for me.
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Old 02-12-2019, 02:56 AM   #29
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Niemi is I think also an example of a mediocre (not bad) goalie playing well at the right time. He played some really excellent hockey at times during that cup run, clearly winning the goaltending duel in many games. Which is what even mediocre NHL goalies are capable of.
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Old 02-12-2019, 05:38 AM   #30
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I think you have to give opposing teams credit for scouting too.

Rittich has a weakness high on his blocker side.

They seem to score at least one goal here every game while they did not the first part of the season up until the new year.
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Old 02-12-2019, 07:55 AM   #31
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The guys on 960 mentioned a few days back that BSD's save percentage is pretty bad lately, like I can't remember the exact stat but in the last 10 games it was .889 or so (where he's more like .91 for the year and something stupid like .93 on the road).

Does seem he's lost some swagger, hopefully he gets it back.
He hasn't been that bad. The article lays it out, but he's .904 in his last ten games, and the league median goalie is .902 (team save percentage)
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Old 02-12-2019, 07:58 AM   #32
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So is that a trend? Or leveling out? With no real track record for Rittich it’s hard to say.
I would guess he played over his head and/or the league has figured him out to a certain degree from his crazy hot start to the season.

Can he make an adjustment or two?

He's still giving the Flames average NHL goaltending ... he's no longer giving the Flames average starting goaltending.
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Old 02-12-2019, 08:00 AM   #33
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BSD:

10 GP

7W, 2OTL, 1ND, 0.904 SV%, 2.89 GAA.

People need to chill out and put things in context. Take what we have so far this year and be thankful. Without Rittich, this team is on the bubble, or outside looking in, instead of fighting for top spot in the West and an outside shot at the President's trophy.
.904 save percentage on a whole is the 42nd best goaltender in the league if you go by a full season of work.

It's still NHL caliber, but it isn't a starting goalie's level any more.

You can't take away his first half, it's part of his record, but he's certainly lost a step and needs to get some of it back.
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Old 02-12-2019, 08:05 AM   #34
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Some see the deference between .910 and .920 as a result of the Flames holding Vancouver to zero shots for half a period then when they finally gave up a shot, it is a giving a sniper like Boeser time and space, with a nice pass across the Royal Road.

It takes mental strength and focus to play behind a team that can suppress shots for long periods of time
The Flames give up 28.9 shots per game. The average team gives up 30.9. He's not just standing there for 15 minutes on a nightly basis with no action.
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Old 02-12-2019, 08:15 AM   #35
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He is 100% not the weakness.

Last two losses are on lack of finish from the offence.

I mean, my god, the guy is 20-4-5. His regulation losses were (aside from two hooks) of the 1-0 and 2-0 variety. They're coming off two breaks, he just looked rusty like every one else on the team. Looked better as the Vancouver game went on. Not concerned.
Agreed. I thought he looked particularly good in the OT where he seemed confident and made a couple of big stops. I think as long as the Flames don't have anymore long breaks, they should be fine. Their scheduling this year has been wacky to say the least, and I think it took them out of their rhythm, including Rittich.

The last two losses are more on the team in front of him for not capitalizing on countless grade A scoring chances. Not to mention the PP went 0-5 in the Vancouver game. Not good enough.

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Old 02-12-2019, 08:25 AM   #36
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As usual the truth lands somewhere in the middle.

Rittich hasn't been as good. Neither have the Flames as a whole.
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Old 02-12-2019, 08:30 AM   #37
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The Flames give up 28.9 shots per game. The average team gives up 30.9. He's not just standing there for 15 minutes on a nightly basis with no action.
Point was shot quality vs quantity and that is still not measured well enough to make sv% a truly meaningful metric without context
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Old 02-12-2019, 08:55 AM   #38
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.904 save percentage on a whole is the 42nd best goaltender in the league if you go by a full season of work.

It's still NHL caliber, but it isn't a starting goalie's level any more.

You can't take away his first half, it's part of his record, but he's certainly lost a step and needs to get some of it back.
Agreed - but the point I was going with in my post was to highlight that it is a long season, and even the best of goalies (Rinne), have stretches where they appear mortal.

Rittich hasn't been as strong the last few games, no question. But, again, the team in front of him hasn't exactly been playing the most effective defense. They've limited teams on volume of shots, but when the shots do come they are typically very dangerous.
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Old 02-12-2019, 09:13 AM   #39
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As others have said, since Christmas, the team's defense hasn't be up to par, and it's been masked by still piling on the wins because the offense carried the load. But with the recent string of games, it's becoming more noticeable now.

The defense needs to be shored up once again during this stretch drive.
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Old 02-12-2019, 09:15 AM   #40
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Agreed - but the point I was going with in my post was to highlight that it is a long season, and even the best of goalies (Rinne), have stretches where they appear mortal.

Rittich hasn't been as strong the last few games, no question. But, again, the team in front of him hasn't exactly been playing the most effective defense. They've limited teams on volume of shots, but when the shots do come they are typically very dangerous.
It's a bit worse than that.

The 15th best starter has a .914 save percentage. Rittich hasn't been at that level in any of his last three five game segments which totals half of his season.

Some silver linings for me though ...

1) If you told me Smith would be brutal this year I would have gladly taken Rittich at a middling goaltender as a stater (where he's trending)
2) Rittich has some interesting splits ... great at even strength but not when down a man which suggests to me the Flames have a systemic PK issue possibly.

Out of 42 goalies that have faced 100 minutes shorthanded Calgary has the 31st and 38th ranked goaltenders in terms of save percentage.

Rittich has the fourth worst dSV% shorthanded of the 42.

Why?
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