[PGT] Wild 4, Flames 2

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Changing from the goalie convo, what does everyone think about the Hathaway incident. At the Dome last night my angle and the only replay we saw on the jumbotron had me completely confused as to what happened or if he’d even done anything but avoid a hit.

Just saw the SNet replay, I do not like it one bit. Feel he deserves a pretty hefty suspension fir an inexcusably dirty and dangerous play. Pretty dumb move on his part.

[jonkaupp]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Really?

Im thinking that what guys do in October and November have absolutely no bearing on whats happening in March and on.

LOL

I think what players have done in prior months or even seasons will not be an indicator of what they will do in the future.

That’s the dumbest one I’ve heard yet.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

It's not just his record, I just hate the way Smith plays goalie in general. To me, he just doesn't pass the eye test. It's the way he lets in goals, and the timing of them. More often then not, they are back breaking goals. I have zero confidence in the Flames making any noise in the playoffs if this guy is our starting goalie. It's not a knock on him as a person, I'm just criticizing him solely as a player for the Flames.

Right.

Thank you.

Im not defending his horrible goals or style or even suggesting he should be starting or whatever.

Im saying, and I suggest this is the biggest factor in coaches decisions as well, that his numbers and all that stuff that contribute to winning games (all coaches care about) recently are the same or minisculely better than that of Rittich. No more and no less.

So when Mike Smith gets starts, dont be surprised. Rittich will get a bunch, SMith will get a bunch. Just how it is with these guys as both have shown different abilities at different times.

I mean they cant be THAT bad as a tandem when they sit 8th overall as a team in GAA.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Cleveland Steam Whistle

Changing from the goalie convo, what does everyone think about the Hathaway incident. At the Dome last night my angle and the only replay we saw on the jumbotron had me completely confused as to what happened or if he’d even done anything but avoid a hit.

Just saw the SNet replay, I do not like it one bit. Feel he deserves a pretty hefty suspension fir an inexcusably dirty and dangerous play. Pretty dumb move on his part.

It looked WWE like, ramming a guy's head into the turnbuckle

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by jonkaupp

I think what players have done in prior months or even seasons will not be an indicator of what they will do in the future.

That’s the dumbest one I’ve heard yet.

So if I have this straight..

You don't think how players are playing recently are an indicator of how they will be playing...next?

yet, you are discounting all of Smiths numbers of recent because of what he was doing in the first 3 months of the season?...all while saying he shouldnt play anymore now... because of how he played in the past?

I think I'm done with this "conversation".

Go Rittich Go!!

[jonkaupp]

Originally Posted by jonkaupp

I think what players have done in prior months or even seasons will not be an indicator of what they will do in the future.

That’s the dumbest one I’ve heard yet.

Matthew Tkahuck has 4 points in the last 13 games while Austin Czarnik has 5 in the last 7 and you think Matthew is the better player? You’re gonna use what he did in October and November as an indicator as to what they’re gonna do in March!?

LOL


That is the exact same take as Transplant has in regards to Rittich and Smith.

[jonkaupp]

Originally Posted by transplant99

So if I have this straight..

You don't think how players are playing recently are an indicator of how they will be playing...next?

yet, you are discounting all of Smiths numbers of recent because of what he was doing in the first 3 months of the season?...all while saying he shouldnt play anymore now... because of how he played in the past?

I think I'm done with this "conversation".

Go Rittich Go!!

I am not discounting Smiths recent play. It has been ok. Good enough to be equal to Rittichs worst play. Yes I absolutely factor in what he did in the first three months of the season and it would be totally foolish and disingenuous to not factor it in. Christ I think I’m done as well because the points being made are among the worst I’ve ever had to read.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by jonkaupp

Matthew Tkahuck has 4 points in the last 13 games while Austin Czarnik has 5 in the last 7 and you think Matthew is the better player? You’re gonna use what he did in October and November as an indicator as to what they’re gonna do in March!?

LOL


That is the exact same take as Transplant has in regards to Rittich and Smith.

Better player? No, but you might use Czarnik in a certain situation right now, because he has the hot hand.

[TheScorpion]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1102270685588713472

a little surprised by this but i suppose that's good news

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

https://twitter.com/user/status/1102270685588713472

a little surprised by this but i suppose that's good news

Im guessing BT requests that the league rescind the game misconduct as well.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

https://twitter.com/user/status/1102270685588713472

a little surprised by this but i suppose that's good news

I think its the right call and I'm generally someone who favors seeing more, not less, punishment for dirty hits
But it was an odd play.
I didn't see intent, but the outcome was still not good.
So 5 and a game, and nothing more, seems about right to me.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Since January 1st.

Rittich has started 13 games. He is 9-1-2, .900 sv%, 2.84 GAA.

Smith has started 12 games. He is 8-4-1, .904 save%, 2.81 GAA.

So if Mike Smith shouldn't be starting for an NHL team, what does that mean for David Rittich?

Outside of teams not named San Jose or Tampa Bay who are top goal scoring teams and make a lot of goalies look bad, his statistics are actually pretty good. A couple of bad outings against elite teams can make a big difference in a small sample size.

If Mike Smith had to play against Tampa twice this season, his numbers would look even more dreadful than they already are.


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[Zarley]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I think its the right call and I'm generally someone who favors seeing more, not less, punishment for dirty hits
But it was an odd play.
I didn't see intent, but the outcome was still not good.
So 5 and a game, and nothing more, seems about right to me.

The guy went into the boards looking for a big hit. He hurt himself thanks entirely to his own momentum. It shouldn’t have even been a penalty, as if Hathaway is consciously pushing Kunin’s head into the boards in the few split seconds he had to evade the hit. Very bizarre call.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Zarley

The guy went into the boards looking for a big hit. He hurt himself thanks entirely to his own momentum. It shouldn’t have even been a penalty, as if Hathaway is consciously pushing Kunin’s head into the boards in the few split seconds he had to evade the hit. Very bizarre call.

I thought it was most definitely a roughing penalty, and that is how it should have been called. I didn’t get the “intent to injure” major at all.


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[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by Zarley

The guy went into the boards looking for a big hit. He hurt himself thanks entirely to his own momentum. It shouldn’t have even been a penalty, as if Hathaway is consciously pushing Kunin’s head into the boards in the few split seconds he had to evade the hit. Very bizarre call.

Thought it was the right call, looked careless on Hathaway's part but unintentional.

[delayedreflex]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Since January 1st.

Rittich has started 13 games. He is 9-1-2, .900 sv%, 2.84 GAA.

Smith has started 12 games. He is 8-4-1, .904 save%, 2.81 GAA.

So if Mike Smith shouldn't be starting for an NHL team, what does that mean for David Rittich?

Well, there is the fact that Rittich still lost fewer games in regulation than Smith despite the mediocre stats - Rittich had the tendency to let in late-game goals in games that Calgary already had a multi-goal lead, which wasn't great for the SV% or GAA but didn't have any impact on the outcome of the game.

In my observations, Rittich has also made some puck-handling flubs lately, but Smith still plays the puck more aggressively so is more likely to make those mistakes, and they are among the more obvious mistakes that goalies make, thus making fans particularly irritated when they happen.

The other major factor I think is that each goalie has a different weakness - Rittich seems to be prone to bad-angle short side shots over the shoulder (Johnny should work on him with this since he loves taking that shot), which is a more forgivable weakness since it requires the opponent to make a great shot to score. Smith has a propensity to let in shots through the five hole, including ones that are straight on and unscreened like Minny's 4th goal. Those ones just look bad and do the opposite of inspiring confidence.

The fans trust Rittich to make the routine saves that any goalie should make - Smith can't be trusted to make those. Smith might make some spectacular sprawling saves from time to time, but I think fans (not sure about coaches and teammates) prefer a steady .900 SV% based on making the routine saves over the sporadic .900% where the goalie makes some spectacular saves but also let's in a ton of stinkers at inopportune times. If you take into account the context of goals that Rittich lets in vs. Smith, it's no contest IMO that Rittich lets in far fewer back-breaking goals against.

[browna]

Yeah, didn't like the call. The guy went for a big hit himself, with a bit more recklessness knowing that that there was no glass. He bounced off Hathaway and Hathaway's reaction of sticking his arm out to brace for that hit, had his arm around the guys nrck/back. The guys act of bouncing off of Hathaway and down had the guy likely hitting the boards on his own.
Not sure where Hathaway's arm and hand were supposed to go.

Even Louie in the commentary watching it now this morning from broadcast didn't seem to think it was much at first, until they called it 5 and then his story changed. It certainly wasn't an intent to injure match penalty, it was a 2 min roughing call.

Having Hathaway out meant that 4th line wasn't nearly the same the rest of the game. Peters goes to that line to gain momentum in games like that where the other lines don't look especially sharp, and those guys go out there and work their butt off and gain the cycle back, as they already had one or two of those shifts before his ejection.

It was a big point in the game.

[Barnet Flame]

Goalies win cups. It’s a well known saying for a reason.

Yes it is overly simplistic because even the best goalies need talent in front of them.

We have the talent - no question. However we are unlikely to win a Cup this year with this tandem.

[Textcritic]

As usual, discussion about goaltending is completely off the rails. It’s embarrassing to this community when there are posters who talk about wanting to punch strangers for wearing a Mike Smith jersey, others who pontificate about his terrible lack of character, and a few who disparage his choice of hats. It’s disgusting. Smith had a bad game. Leave it at that.

There was a moment in last night’s post game panel where Brian Burke injected some much needed perspective. He said: “The team just won seven in a row. I don’t think anyone should be jumping off of bridges tonight.” He is absolutely right. But sadly, I also could not help but think that he must not read CP.

I sure do hate the Wild. I thought it was a really good, tight checking game that the Flames dominated. I thought the top line looked fine, but that Minnesota suffocated them—it’s what has been happening for a couple weeks now. This is why secondary scoring is important, and it is also why I am not overly worried about the playoffs regardless of the matchup.


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[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by delayedreflex

Well, there is the fact that Rittich still lost fewer games in regulation than Smith despite the mediocre stats - Rittich had the tendency to let in late-game goals in games that Calgary already had a multi-goal lead, which wasn't great for the SV% or GAA but didn't have any impact on the outcome of the game.

Was worth exploring, so I checked it out

Since Jan 1, in situations where the score of the game is tied or within 1 goal, here are their save percentages / GAA / TOI:

Rittich - 0.923 / 2.18 / 632:36
Smith - 0.897 / 3.05 / 571:25