[GDT] Anaheim Ducks @ Calgary Flames (SN West)

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Giordano and Andersson looked excellent together on Wednesday. I am looking forward to seeing them again tonight.

Giordano with right side options.

Brodie
With - 56.8% CF%
Without - 46.0

Andersson
With - 55.0% CF%
Without - 46.8

Hamonic is the exception ... they're both better without each other.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by Nehkara

Smith:

St. Louis: Left in for 2 periods
Pittsburgh: Left in for 30 minutes
Philly: Left in for 2 periods

Rittich:

San Jose: Just under 14 minutes.


I think the San Jose pull was premature.

Rittich was completely off his game against SJ. Also Peters even mentioned the pull was a timeout and they discussed putting him back in.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Nehkara

Smith:

St. Louis: Left in for 2 periods
Pittsburgh: Left in for 30 minutes
Philly: Left in for 2 periods

Rittich:

San Jose: Just under 14 minutes.


I think the San Jose pull was premature.

Quicker than I expected for sure, and he did say they almost put him back in net for the second (which I think would have been the better call).

Hard to nitpick Peters this year on his roster / adjustments.

[Nehkara]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Quicker than I expected for sure, and he did say they almost put him back in net for the second (which I think would have been the better call).

Hard to nitpick Peters this year on his roster / adjustments.

Can't disagree there.

Excited for the game tonight.

[MissTeeks]

I’m putting this here cause I’m bored about talking about Mike Smith lol:

https://twitter.com/user/status/1098998829691604995

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by the2bears

Really? Who said that? Using the 'shutout' word in the GT is bad form IMO, but I've never seen it mentioned that you can't predict a shutout in the GDT.

Maybe I just made it up. Who knows.

Prove me wrong Smitty!

[Svartsengi]

Originally Posted by FBI

Well gulp. It’s my big 4-0 today. I hate the ducks with a passion. So obviously 4-0 flames but I will also take 9-3 flames in honor of me staying 39 in spirit forever.

You must drink 40 shooters before the game starts or the Flames won't win. The Flames fate is in your hands tonight.

[Infinit47]

Originally Posted by Frank MetaMusil

You have to keep going to Smith until the wheels fall off again. I mean, worst case he ####s the bed again tonight and Rittich goes in anyway.

I don't understand what the big deal is here. Neither goalie been great lately, but recently Smith has had more "good enough to win" play than Rittich. And you don't change a guy who has won 3 straight. Rittich will get his chance again, people just need to be patient.

[IliketoPuck]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

But compared to how Rittich has fared most recently, it would seem that both goalies are currently playing at about the same level—perhaps with a slight nod to Smith.

You said:

Mike Smith has played four games against "playoff teams" most recently. David Rittich has played four games against three playoff teams since 22 Jan, and has posted 0.778 against TB, 0.667 against SJ, and 0.943 and 0.919 against Carolina. In his last full game v. SJ he recorded a 0.848, which is even lower than Mike Smith's performance in relief earlier this month.

Like Bingo said: neither goalie is playing great, and we agree that it would be preferable to see Rittich start tonight. However, it seems a fairly sensible argument to say that Rittich has not performed quite as well as Smith most recently. I just don't see why it is controversial to suggest that he has been struggling.

Again - I've been clear in my posts on this subject that I agree Rittich has struggled.

Not sure why you are injecting a false narrative when there doesn't need to be one. I didn't mention anything about Rittich in my post for the precise reason that I wanted it to be about Smith alone, and not Rittich. It would appear that you are focused on rehashing the debate about Smith vs. Rittich, not me.

My entire point is that I disagree with the opinion that Mike Smith has meaningfully turned a corner in his results. The simplistic data points to that not being the case.

Notwithstanding Mike Smith has won several of his recent starts, I still firmly believe Rittich is the superior option in net, and would have equal, or better, stats than Smith's in the last few games had he been the starter. Especially given the effort displayed by the skaters since the road trip concluded.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by MissTeeks

https://twitter.com/user/status/1098998829691604995

I see a Tkachuk/Rittich Buddy Movie in the future...

"He's the brash young upstart who likes to bend the rules, he's the shy outsider with a quick mind. Together they search for fame and fortune."

[Fan in Exile]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Did we really worry about Mike Smith getting a chance to even out his numbers when he got pulled against St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Philly this year, or did we as a group think he kind of sucked?

Rittich let in two bad goals in the first against San Jose, no question. I would say that was his worst start of the year. Mike Smith has let in bad goals early in many many games this season and has never been pulled until well into the second period. In my opinion, Peters has this backwards and has had it backwards since at least November.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Fan in Exile

Rittich let in two bad goals in the first against San Jose, no question. I would say that was his worst start of the year. Mike Smith has let in bad goals in many many games this season and has never been pulled until well into the second period. In my opinion, Peters has this backwards and has had it backwards since at least November.

It was early for sure.

But you framed it as he didn't get a chance to redeem himself in defense of his pretty weak numbers of late, I'm suggesting that nobody is worried if Smith doesn't get a chance to redeem himself in a struggled start.

But for the record I wanted Rittich tonight, actually wanted him against the Islanders too. I think he's the better of the two goalies. I'm happy Smith has stabilized somewhat but am aware his numbers in two of the last four games aren't great.

But the conk shell game for hiding Rittich's warts and ignoring Smith's good games is getting a little much.

[442scotty]

I’ve been saying for 4 games that Smith is gonna crap the bed so I’m sticking with my prediction

[Fan in Exile]

Originally Posted by Bingo

It was early for sure.

But you framed it as he didn't get a chance to redeem himself in defense of his pretty weak numbers of late, I'm suggesting that nobody is worried if Smith doesn't get a chance to redeem himself in a struggled start.

But for the record I wanted Rittich tonight, actually wanted him against the Islanders too. I think he's the better of the two goalies. I'm happy Smith has stabilized somewhat but am aware his numbers in two of the last four games aren't great.

But the conk shell game for hiding Rittich's warts and ignoring Smith's good games is getting a little much.

No, my point was that when you're looking at Rittich's bad numbers over his last four starts including GAA, you should take into account how early he was pulled and that the Flames got worked by the Lightning. He has not had his best stretch but has not been as bad as those numbers suggest.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Fan in Exile

No, my point was that when you're looking at Rittich's bad numbers over his last four starts including GAA, you should take into account how early he was pulled and that the Flames got worked by the Lightning. He has not had his best stretch but has not been as bad as those numbers suggest.

Has Rittich played well in his last four starts?

[midniteowl]

Originally Posted by MissTeeks

I’m putting this here cause I’m bored about talking about Mike Smith lol:

https://twitter.com/user/status/1098998829691604995

This is awesome! I'm out of thanks but this deserved this:

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Has Rittich played well in his last four starts?

Not great, no. But the question I have is: Does sitting him this long help him or hurt him?

I am not surprised that Peters is giving Smith every chance to get his game back. I AM surprised that he is letting Rittich sit this long.

Both goalies need to be managed.

[Fan in Exile]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Has Rittich played well in his last four starts?

Honestly, I think that aside from a two-minute lapse against San Jose, he has been reliable as he has been all season long. Having said that, he hasn't been as good as earlier in the season. One of the things that has crept into his game is puckhandling errors. I believe that he has tried to handle the puck more because Smith's puckhandling is cited as a reason he gets starts and is a preffered option, and feels pressure to over-perform because consistently outplaying Smith over the course of the season hasn't been enough to win Peters' confidence in him. I think Smith getting the start after the All-Star game and being pulled so quickly against San Jose have undermined his confidence, and Smith getting five starts in a row will continue to undermine his confidence.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Not great, no. But the question I have is: Does sitting him this long help him or hurt him?

I am not surprised that Peters is giving Smith every chance to get his game back. I AM surprised that he is letting Rittich sit this long.

Both goalies need to be managed.

I totally agree. I personally would have started Rittich in this game.

I have raised the question because the treatment of both goalies by fans is unbalanced. We have no problem calling Smith out for bad goals and poor outings, but then some refuse to do the same when Rittich struggles.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

I totally agree. I personally would have started Rittich in this game.

I have raised the question because the treatment of both goalies by fans is unbalanced. We have no problem calling Smith out for bad goals and poor outings, but then some refuse to do the same when Rittich struggles.

I agree that there are some posters doing that. But I think there is also an inordinate amount of defending Smith and defending Peters as a result. Some of the posters defending Smith against the onslaught have been just as extreme as those they are trying to counter.

This topic has been a mess for a long time now. Very frustrating to follow.