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

[Duffalufagus]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

I’m not sure it has necessarily damaged their psyche, but it’s definitely damaged the team in the standings. The team really needed to win that game or at least get a point vs Minnesota as the Sharks have no surpassed the Flames in the standings and are in the driver’s seat.

Also, all the points Mike Smith cost the Flames early in the season have caught up with the team. If the Flames had those extra points on San Jose right now, we wouldn’t be in a position of chasing right now. Las Vegas looks extremely poised for another cup run and the likelihood of them bouncing us out of the playoffs is a lot higher than if we played a Minnesota, Arizona or Colorado in round 1.


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What about the points Rittich has cost the Flames with his below average play in January and February?

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Duffalufagus

What about the points Rittich has cost the Flames with his below average play in January and February?

Rittich got 15 of 16 possible points in January with the team playing pretty poorly in the defensive zone...

Rittich's only regulation losses in February came against teams currently sitting 1st in their respective conferences. The only other point he cost us was a shootout loss in which no one scored.

[activeStick]

Ryan Pinder had an interesting theory yesterday during the Boomer and Warrener morning show that the Flames have always had Rittich as the number one of the two goalies but have been playing Smith the amount they have to try and get Smith's game back, which has seemed to help him to a small degree. With the fight now for top spot back since the Sharks have made up ground, he'd expect Rittich to be played like the number one now until the end of the season. I guess we'll see!

[Draug]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Rittich got 15 of 16 possible points in January with the team playing pretty poorly in the defensive zone...

Rittich's only regulation losses in February came against teams currently sitting 1st in their respective conferences. The only other point he cost us was a shootout loss in which no one scored.

So .... Rittich has cost us 1 point .... all season. If you count not winning a shootout as costing a point.

[EldrickOnIce]

I think we've been the only ones debating/flipping out over Smith starts, and who is #1.
I expect they've had a plan to set Rittich up for playoffs while keeping Smith sharp enough, or getting his game back to some degree at least, in case needed.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by activeStick

Ryan Pinder had an interesting theory yesterday during the Boomer and Warrener morning show that the Flames have always had Rittich as the number one of the two goalies but have been playing Smith the amount they have to try and get Smith's game back, which has seemed to help him to a small degree. With the fight now for top spot back since the Sharks have made up ground, he'd expect Rittich to be played like the number one now until the end of the season. I guess we'll see!

I don't think this theory holds any water. Mike Smith was the starting goalie at the beginning of the year, and his backup entered the season with 20 NHL games on his resumé. I think the simplest explanation of the coaching staff's decision-making for their goalies is really straightforward:

1. Smith was bad at the start of the year, and his poor performance opened the door for his backup to start more games.
2. Rittich was excellent for a long stretch of games, and effectively earned equal starting-time as a result.
3. As Rittich's play levelled off and Smith's improved, his starts were slightly scaled back and Smith's were increased.
4. Flames coaches are undecided between their two goalies who their starter is and who it will be when the playoffs begin, and will evaluate over the course of the remaining 14 games.

Having said all that, I expect Rittich to play the most games of the remaining 14, and to start Game #1 in the playoffs. While I think the coaches have been eager to get Smith to a better level of performance, the plan for a long time now has been to start the goalie who looks the best when the time comes.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Draug

So .... Rittich has cost us 1 point .... all season. If you count not winning a shootout as costing a point.

I am reading this with what I am assuming is the intended level of sarcasm, because Rittich has had poor, costly performances in more than just a single game.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Draug

So .... Rittich has cost us 1 point .... all season. If you count not winning a shootout as costing a point.

Not quite, though he has really only had 2 or 3 bad games all season. Coaching staff has done a fantastic job easing him into a starters role this year.

[Draug]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

I am reading this with what I am assuming is the intended level of sarcasm, because Rittich has had poor, costly performances in more than just a single game.

A tiny bit tongue-in-cheek, but not entirely.

I couldn't think of any cost points off the top of my head.... I would not count bad team performances against SJ or TOR as costing points.

Maybe the one game where he got yanked after 2 quick goals? But he may have shut the door had he not been pulled.

How many has he cost?

To me, Rittich should be the clear number 1. He should get all the rope. It isn't without risk, as he's unproven, but he has earned it with his body of work through the whole season.

I know I am confident about saves being made when he's in net.....

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by Draug

Maybe the one game where he got yanked after 2 quick goals? But he may have shut the door had he not been pulled.

There's maybe a 1/10 chance he would have stopped the third goal and would have got pulled after that anyway.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

I am reading this with what I am assuming is the intended level of sarcasm, because Rittich has had poor, costly performances in more than just a single game.

Yes, Rittich has had some bad games.
And some good ones where the team in front was essentially doomed
And some unlucky ones.
And some good ones where he threw his own SV% out the window letting in a meaningless late goal.

That's all true.

But the reason not many feel Rittich has cost us points is because he's been clutch in some very tight games and come away with, well, points.

Mike Smith has been a liability in some key tight, winnable games (Montreal, Nashville, Washington, Minnesota).

That's what their SV% (5v5) in tied scenarios reflects:

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Draug

A tiny bit tongue-in-cheek, but not entirely.

I couldn't think of any cost points off the top of my head.... I would not count bad team performances against SJ or TOR as costing points...

Do you mean TB on 12 Feb and Tor on 4 Mar? The team certainly did him no favours in either game, but Rittich shares the blame for the outcome in both.

Maybe the one game where he got yanked after 2 quick goals? But he may have shut the door had he not been pulled.

How many has he cost?

Rittich was primarily to blame for the SJ home loss, but I also hold him culpable for poor performances on 28 Nov v. Dallas, 29 Dec v. Van, and 16 Jan v. Buffalo. He was also not great on 9 Feb @ Van. Those are all games the Flames should have won, and they lost in large part because Rittich was not good enough.

To me, Rittich should be the clear number 1. He should get all the rope. It isn't without risk, as he's unproven, but he has earned it with his body of work through the whole season.

I know I am confident about saves being made when he's in net.....

I agree on all points, but I see no reason why Rittich should not be held accountable for games in which he has not played as well as he should have. Every goalie is going to cost his team points with bad performances.

[dino7c]

Lets be real here...if the Flames don't win the division Smith is the biggest reason why

He blew a handful of games in the first half, far more than Rittich

All you have to do is look at their records...with Smith getting the easier assignments even

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Lets be real here...if the Flames don't win the division Smith is the biggest reason why

He blew a handful of games in the first half, far more than Rittich

All you have to do is look at their records...with Smith getting the easier assignments even

No one disagrees with you, I am sure. For my part I am merely pointing out that for as great as he has been this season David Rittich is not above reproach. It is not unusual to see his errors glossed over or outright ignored because of his excellent work, and this distorts his whole body of work.

[CanadaMatt]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Lets be real here...if the Flames don't win the division Smith is the biggest reason why

He blew a handful of games in the first half, far more than Rittich

All you have to do is look at their records...with Smith getting the easier assignments even

Maybe Smith just wasn’t trying his hardest and is saving himself for the stretch and the playoffs...

[tkflames]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Lets be real here...if the Flames don't win the division Smith is the biggest reason why

He blew a handful of games in the first half, far more than Rittich

And if Tampa doesn't win the league...Vasilevskys injury will be the reason why...oh wait...

Over an 82 game season where the team won the majority of the games, a single player is not the reason. The flames lost some games because the 1st line has been a non factor the last 6 weeks. The flames lost some games because their goaltending was poor. The flames won some games where the offense was opportunistic and the flames won some games that each goalie stole. Picking individual games as the difference over an 82 game schedule and blaming those on the overall team average is more you looking for a scapegoat than anything.

Would the Flames be better if they had Fleury over Smith by 4-8 points? Probably...would they also be better with Stamkos over Neal by the same margin?...probably.

[tkflames]

Also...I hope this thread dies. Best case scenario Smith has less than 40 games left in his NHL career. Most likely he will sit on the bench for most of those. As a flames fan, I hope for one of two outcomes:
1. We dont need him and he can ride into the sunset after a successful playoff.
2. We need him and he takes one more solid run at the cup.

Either way...I dont understand the need for us to continue to bump this to the front page to recycle the same complaints about the guy. It looks bad on us as a fan base. Hope for the best in his last few games and hopefully he walks away with a ring. His body of work playing for poor teams certainly warrants him a chance at one..

[Draug]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Do you mean TB on 12 Feb and Tor on 4 Mar? The team certainly did him no favours in either game, but Rittich certainly shares blame for the outcome in both.


Rittich was primarily to blame for the SJ home loss, but I also hold him culpable for poor performances on 28 Nov v. Dallas, 29 Dec v. Van, and 16 Jan v. Buffalo. He was also not great on 9 Feb @ Van. Those are all games the Flames should have won, and they lost in large part because Rittich was not good enough.

Yes, I meant TB. Sorry.

Wow, your memory is 100x better than mine. I remember nothing of those games! I would have to go look them up.

[GioforPM]

I would also say Rittich was saved in the odd game by Calgary's goalscoring (not as much as Smith, but some). Eg: the NYE game versus SJ, the win against Fla, and maybe even Vegas just now (that second goal wasn't good).

[DeluxeMoustache]

When your opening salvo includes portioning blame on the goalie for the game where TB took Calgary to the woodshed, it is tough to take the rest of the argument, whatever it is, seriously.