[PGT] Poor goaltending does the team in .... AGAIN. Flames lose 6-4 to the Bruins.

[Dion]

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by blankall

I do feel bad for Smith. It's hard to see a formerly great athlete be so bad. He seems like a great guy, but he really does look done. The team has given him many chances, and there has just been no improvement. Even in the games he wins, he seems to be totally shaky and not know where the puck is.

Once again feel bad for Smith, not that bad though. He is getting paid $5 million dollars this year to stink it up. It's time to give him the yank though. Management needs to bring in someone else to be a backup/1B to Rittich. No way around it at this point.

I wonder if he is still injured, I noticed on one goal he wouldn't kick his right leg out. If he is not injured I think the best thing would be to send him to the farm team to play lots and get his confidence, conditioning or whatever it is back. He needs to play if there is any hope of him regaining some solid play. I think a situation like that where he can work with a goalie coach and get back on track. Bring up Jon Gillies let him start fresh and see if he can at least give us some improved back up and if not then BT has a better idea.

[CanadaMatt]

Originally Posted by DazzlinDino

I wonder if he is still injured, I noticed on one goal he wouldn't kick his right leg out. If he is not injured I think the best thing would be to send him to the farm team to play lots and get his confidence, conditioning or whatever it is back. He needs to play if there is any hope of him regaining some solid play. I think a situation like that where he can work with a goalie coach and get back on track. Bring up Jon Gillies let him start fresh and see if he can at least give us some improved back up and if not then BT has a better idea.

While I don’t disagree with you, I’d personally hate to see a very good player like Smith end up in the minors at the end of his career. There’s no guarantee that he plays well down there.

What other options are there? I have no idea.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by taxbuster

Came to see the Smith-bashing. Left....feeling grumpy.


He's not the (only) reason the Flames lost. A really crappy 5-on-3 (after defending one!) and several missed PP opportunities, poor D coverage on three of the goals, and not enough physicality.


Moving on to the next game....

He is the main reason...Flames had nearly 67% of the possession and allowed 8 high danger chances...EIGHT

they lost 6-4

Flames should have scored on the 5 on 3 I guess...they shouldn't need to score 6 or 7 goals to win a game where they allow eight high danger chances

[Beninho]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Boston is a good team. Mike Smith sucks in back-to-backs. All things considered, I’m surprised he only let in 5...

I also think Smith has a lower body injury that is limiting his lateral mobility and resulting in (i) ugly goals when he plays so deep in his net, and (ii) him cheating on the pass and opening up the five hole like on the fifth goal. Add to that the smaller chest protectors causing goals to leak under his arms and his .915 easily becomes sub .900.

Sad because he’d be a nice veteran backup for a guy like Rittich but is quickly wearing out his welcome in the last year of his contract.

The injury is called being old

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by sketchyt

He's usually someone who plays at/near the top of the crease, so I suspect it's one of two things:

1. Lack of confidence. I don't think this is the case with him, knowing what I do about him personally.

2. Most likely, I think he's dealing with a lingering minor groin injury. Injured enough to slightly limit mobility, not injured enough to be on IR. He knows he can't go post-to-post reliably without further injury. I've seen him make some pretty odd save decisions all year. His butterfly is really narrow all of a sudden and he's flopping into it instead of driving into it. If you look at Boston's fourth goal, he doesn't even make an attempt to push off his left foot/leg. I understand he bit on the fake, but there's zero attempt. All of these, in my experience, speak to groin/hip issues.

Rebuttal will be to say he shouldn't be selfish and sit out, but that's how these guys are made. Understandable and crappy at the same time, IMO.

This has been my suspicion, he just doesn't seem to kick that right leg out and the injury is making it so he can't play at a level he needs to. I think the Flames should send him to the farm where he can work on his game, or conditioning or whatever he he needs to, but if he continues at this rate he may end badly for him and the team. This is especially true if Rittich was hurt down the stretch or during the playoffs. At that point I would say poor management by the Flames if they don't have a better back up plan. You would think good playoff teams would have this part addressed.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by taxbuster

Came to see the Smith-bashing. Left....feeling grumpy.


He's not the (only) reason the Flames lost. A really crappy 5-on-3 (after defending one!) and several missed PP opportunities, poor D coverage on three of the goals, and not enough physicality.


Moving on to the next game....

Right! Smith showed us yesterday that he can win when the team just goes ahead and scores 8.

Four? Not on him. They didn’t outscore his expected goals against.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by CanadaMatt

While I don’t disagree with you, I’d personally hate to see a very good player like Smith end up in the minors at the end of his career. There’s no guarantee that he plays well down there.

What other options are there? I have no idea.

Special assistant to the Assistant GM

[meh]

I really enjoy this team. Fun to watch...minus Neal and Smitty.
What a great ride!

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Beninho

The injury is called being old

Many goalies have been productive into their late 30s, so I wouldn't say it is just age. Smith has also always been known for his dedication to fitness.

There may be a lingering health issue and I wouldn't be surprised. He has dealt with injuries in the past. My personal opinion is that he was always just an average starting goalie and changes to the game (equipment size for one) combined with aging, are making him obsolete. He had some decent seasons, but benefited often from playing on defense oriented teams and a light schedule for a starting goalie.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by transplant99

My belief, and i could be 100% wrong, is that BT wont make a decision on his starter next year til the draft. Where he either signs Rittich or makes a deal for a guy he wants. But that is the time of year where you get your best value.

Right now though i think it will be for a backup guy who is an FA at seasons end or on a very low 2 year deal. Someone who will just settle things down for now...that may even be Gillies but it doesnt feel like that is in the cards.

Yeah I dunno.
If Rittich is not a starter going forward, you don't need a backup. He is the future backup.
If Rittich is a starter, you need a backup.Now.
Unfortunately Smith is not capable of being a backup.
So the question is, do you gamble that Rittich is really a bona-fide starter, and therefore spend assets on a backup? Or do you cross your finger and let it play itself out. If Rittich is not your starter going forward, are you throwing away assets acquiring a rental backup?

[Dajazz]

Originally Posted by DazzlinDino

I wonder if he is still injured, I noticed on one goal he wouldn't kick his right leg out . If he is not injured I think the best thing would be to send him to the farm team to play lots and get his confidence, conditioning or whatever it is back. He needs to play if there is any hope of him regaining some solid play. I think a situation like that where he can work with a goalie coach and get back on track. Bring up Jon Gillies let him start fresh and see if he can at least give us some improved back up and if not then BT has a better idea.

This.

I’ve seen it on several goals, his right leg is flopping awkwardly, like he doesn’t have the strength in his outside hip flexor (don’t know the English word). I thought it was only my brain fooling me looking for a reason, but if you see it too. It’s evident on the five hole too, it’s open like a bus garage and he angles his legs asymmetrically - it’s like he’s baiting the shooter but can’t close fast enough.

His positioning is also lacking, either very deep or lunging himself around.

[Monahammer]

Do people really care more about Smith's feelings than the success of the team?
Hes losing us games. Who gives a #### if he fails in the minors too (he almost certainly will if we send him down)

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by CanadaMatt

While I don’t disagree with you, I’d personally hate to see a very good player like Smith end up in the minors at the end of his career. There’s no guarantee that he plays well down there.

What other options are there? I have no idea.

Yeah fans can feel this way but a GM cannot. Treliving has a single goal and that's to ensure his coach is afforded the very best lineup possible to win a Stanley Cup. It's bad enough the organization has stuck with Smith this long at the cost of 8-10 valuable points in the standings. If the Smith situation is not rectified and it ends up costing the Flames home ice in the playoffs I would have to question what kind of GM he is. This team is a long term injury to Rittich away from sewering what has been one of the most promising season's in the history of the organization. This is a lot bigger than Mike Smith's feelings or optics of sending him down to the minors.

[Table 5]

At this point, it's not even on Smith any more. We're half a season in and he is what he is..consistently mediocre. Whether it's due to old age, equipment troubles, or a frazzled mindset, he's reliably unreliable and that won't change.

It's now all on management to do something about it.

Treliving needs to act before we have another Elliot situation in the playoffs. There is no perfect solution out there, but I think at this stage even a passable solution would suffice.

[SportsJunky]

Originally Posted by Table 5

At this point, it's not even on Smith any more. We're half a season in and he is what he is..consistently mediocre. Whether it's due to old age, equipment troubles, or a frazzled mindset, he's reliably unreliable and that won't change.

It's now all on management to do something about it.

Treliving needs to act before we have another Elliot situation in the playoffs. There is no perfect solution out there, but I think at this stage even a passable solution would suffice.

Like what? Bring in some stumblebum backup that may or may not do better than Mike Smith? A change for change sake? Might work, I guess. Calgary is in a bad situation here. I don't see how they solve this until season's end.

[Huntingwhale]

So much for Neal getting the monkey off his back. I can't recall the last time I've ever been so angry at a player for missing a wide open net on a 2-on-1. Smith's performance was disappointing, but somewhat expected. But Neal's missed net, for some reason, just made me angry.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

Gotta be the equipment change. Shots are consistently going through him. Shots are slipping through his arms like they never have before and you can see that teams are exploiting this. They’re purposely targeting his body. I can’t even recall seeing any significant glove saves he’s made this season.

This is why the Flames need to find a replacement. The opposition is taking advantage of this team’s persistence and stubbornness to get Mike Smith “going” while the rest of the hockey world laughs at us and the opposition salivates at their chance to shoot at Mike Smith from everywhere and anywhere.

Smith doesn't really even have equipment as an excuse. He has been hot garbage since last year's All-Star game. In six games between the ASG and his injury, he posted a .892 save percentage. In eight games after, .880. In fact, the equipment change hasn't made his save percentage appreciably worse this year and his GAA is better.

Smith has played 36 games since last year's break. His record is 17-18-1 with a .886 save percentage and a 3.23 GAA. Mike Smith, sadly, is not an NHL calibre player any longer. And Treliving needs to address this issue sooner rather than later, because the last thing I want to see heading into a playoff run is us overworking tiring out Rittich. We need someone we can trust to handle part of the load. Mike Smith is not it, and frankly, neither is Gilles.

The best case scenario for us is that we trade for a backup goalie, send Smith to Stockton and he refuses to report.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by blankall

I do feel bad for Smith. It's hard to see a formerly great athlete be so bad. He seems like a great guy, but he really does look done. The team has given him many chances, and there has just been no improvement. Even in the games he wins, he seems to be totally shaky and not know where the puck is.

Once again feel bad for Smith, not that bad though. He is getting paid $5 million dollars this year to stink it up. It's time to give him the yank though. Management needs to bring in someone else to be a backup/1B to Rittich. No way around it at this point.

I can't feel bad for a guy who spent his career throwing teammates under the bus.
nobody should feel bad about now dumping his corpse to the curb.
flames have been kinder to him than he deserves.

[Hockeyguy15]

Between Smith and now Frolik's agent running his mouth Tre has some work to do.

Both have a decent chance of causing some locker room problems if not dealt with swiftly.