Mike Smith's... woes? He blows? Eating crows? Who knows! (Also David Rittich exists!)

[powderjunkie]

Perhaps Rittich draws in tomorrow against the Sens and then again against the Devils?

Hopefully that gets him back into the flow. It's kinda nice how the Flames essentially have 7 games left against cupcake opponents, 7 against bad teams that tend to play us tough (Kings, Ducks, Wild, Canucks), and 7 against decent/good teams .

They only have 1 tough opponent (Sharks) in their last 10, and 3 more against CBJ, Van, and Dal. This bodes well for goaltender confidence down the stretch. I'd almost be concerned about the team losing some intensity in the last few weeks, but as long as we can hold onto the division lead our first round opponent shouldn't be too bad.

[jonkaupp]

Great that he’s playing better but I still don’t understand why Rittich isn’t getting work unless Enoch’s hypothesis of a nagging injury is correct. Guess we’ll see how it plays out.

[Mass_nerder]

Originally Posted by jonkaupp

Great that he’s playing better but I still don’t understand why Rittich isn’t getting work unless Enoch’s hypothesis of a nagging injury is correct. Guess we’ll see how it plays out.

Or management wants to ride the hot hand. A big part of Smith's poor play this season seems to be a lack of confidence, so if he plays well in a couple of games, Brad/Bill probably want to let him run with the ball to continue to build that confidence.
I don't care that people might think he's done in the NHL; the reality is he's one of our two goalies, and it only benefits the team if he's playing well.
I'm sure he's not going to play out the stretch, and Rittich will have plenty of work in the next 20 games.

[Caged Great]

Rittich needs time to sort himself out also in practice. He has looked lousy for a while now. Smith to his credit is playing well. We need both Smith and Rittich to play well into the playoffs.

[thymebalm]

Since the calendar flipped over to 2019, Smith (11GP, 7W, .904Sv%, 2.87GAA) as been a step better than Rittich (11GP, 7W, .893Sv%, 3.19GAA).

If you take the last 40GP, Smith (17GS, 13W .907Sv%, 2.60GAA) is still the better than Rittich (24GS, 14W, .904Sv%, 2.91GAA).

They are clearly a 1A/1B type scenario. After the first month of the year I didn't think Smith would get hot ever again in his career. It felt like Hiller or Elliot or Toskala or Joesph, or whoever was winding down their career in Calgary, but he's got a bit of a spark to build off of right now. I suspect last night's victory will build his confidence even more.

The Flames will need 2 goalies to go deep in the playoffs, and I don't think they are going to upgrade their keeper at the deadline, either.

The challenge for Bill Peters now that he's got Smith going will be to get Rittich heating up along with him during this final 1/4 of the season.

[Mattman]

So here's the number of games each goalie has won us per month.

October (13 games)
BSD: 3
Smith: 4

November (13 games)
BSD: 5
Smith: 3

December (14 games)
BSD: 4
Smith: 4

January (11 games)
BSD: 6
Smith: 3

February (10/13 games played)
BSD: 1
Smith: 4


Both goalies have been hot and cold, and perfect for us we have had solid goaltending for the majority of the season.

I'm confident going into the playoffs with this tandem.

[SportsJunky]

THW has an article up today about Calgary staying hot right now.

One of the keys mentioned in the article is Smith's recent play.

He’s gone 4-0-1 during a very important stretch and looks more like the All-Star goaltender from the first half of last season, rather than the netminder who appeared lost at times during this current campaign. Smith is a completely different goalie of late and his teammates are responding in kind. He’s turned aside 133 of 144 shots for an impressive .924 save percentage during this stretch. His swagger and competitive fire are back on full display and the accompanying victories serve as excellent news for the organization.

https://thehockeywriters.com/calgary...-success-keys/

[DeluxeMoustache]

The picture in that article is kind of funny. If you look closely, you can see a little daylight high glove.




(I know the photographer is obviously not at the same exact angle as the shooter)

[Monahammer]

Another bad game from one of the worst active nhl goalies. Smith has not adapted well to the new pads this season.

We cannot afford to start this joker for even one game of the playoffs this year. BSD has had his rest, no more smith starts.

[GullFoss]

Boo #### you Mike Smith

[mrdonkey]

I am so sick of this freaking thread. Please just bench his ass and let him rest with Hiller in the history books as one of the most frustrating, inconsistent goalies in the last 20 years of this franchise.

I have been sour with this acquisition since day one and I am running on empty with patience.

[The Yen Man]

If Smith is in net for the playoffs, it's going to be another first round exit. Which is such a shame and a waste of one of the best season in Flames history. I can't wait till Smith is off this team for good.

[Flash Walken]

What is the flames' record in games where they score 2 goals?

[Bunk]

.895 Sv%

bottom 5 in the NHL

[Sainters7]

It's so scary a team this good has goaltending this shaky going into the playoffs..I can't stomach another 2017 playoffs Elliott-esque performance, I just can't.. Really worried it's going to be this team's downfall this spring.

[TheRealPepman]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

It's so scary a team this good has goaltending this shaky going into the playoffs..I can't stomach another 2017 playoffs Elliott-esque performance, I just can't.. Really worried it's going to be this team's downfall this spring.

True. Why Smith keeps getting "opportunities to succeed as #1" is beyond me. Smith already blew his opportunity the moment he let in six goals against Pittsburgh at home.

Why not try Gillies? Maybe the only reason he sucks right now in Stockton is because he doesn't feel like doing #### in Stockton.

Very worried about the Flames doing everything to keep Smith happy, to the extent that the coaching staff prefers him to start Round 1, Game 1 because of experience when really that experience consisted of one good playoff run (2012) and a few games where he had to start because the starter (Roloson) was slumping (2011).

FINAL NOTE: Smith was the backup to Turco for Dallas in 07 although he did not play a game vs. Vancouver.

[jg13]

Mike Smith hates Jarome Iginla

[Jiri Hrdina]

The team isn’t going to try Gillies
This is their goaltending. Success or failure this is it.

[Jiri Hrdina]

The team isn’t going to try Gillies
This is their goaltending. Success or failure this is it.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

What is the flames' record in games where they score 2 goals?

By my count 21 games scoring 2 or less, 11 wins

When they score 4+?

27-1-1

Huh.