[GDT] Flames vs Stars, 7:00 MST. Sportsnet One, Fan 960

[Split98]

Originally Posted by Darkknight

By that merit shouldn't Smith get the start? Smith won his last game and Rittich lost his. I think all the doom and gloom about the team trying to get Smith some confidence is overblown. If Rittich is as mentally fragile as some on here claim, he's not cut out to be a starting goalie, anyways. I think if Smith does start this game it's simply a matter of playing a goalie that the team needs to be playing at a high level and when Rittich was given the reins last year he faultered. No hurt in easing him in.

Rittich put up a .929 against 28 shots in a losing effort
Smith put up a .966 against 29 shots in a drubbing

I don't think you can confidently say that swapping their starts would have resulted in the same statline. We trounced Vegas 4 days earlier so they came to play, and the other game was Arizona.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Oh my god. People are so reactionary about this.

No. If Smith gets the start tonight it is NOT an indictment on Rittich's performance, nor his perceived future with the Flames. Calgary needs BOTH goalies going, and if the coaches decide to get Smith a game tonight, then ALL it means is that they think he is good to go. That is all. There is every reason to expect at this point that the struggling veteran and the second-year NHLer will almost certainly split games all season.

The team needs to go with the goalie that gives them the best chance to win. Period. Especially when playing another playoff caliber team like the Stars. At this point you play Smith against weaker teams and allow Rittich to play himself out of the primary role.

I've watched too many years of ho-hum Flames hockey to be content watching another where we actually have the horses go down the drain because of shoddy, inconsistent netminding from Smith. The Flames don't need both guys going, they just need one guy to not let in terrible, deflating goals nearly every time he plays.

[soulchoice]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Wills needs to call PBP and shut the hell up the rest of the time.

What did he say this morning?

[nightfx]

Originally Posted by Otto-matic

Smith played pretty good against Arizona IMO. Give him the net tonight and if he craps the bed then we know Ritter should take over the starting role.

I feel like someone has said this every single time Smith has had a decent game. He has yet to play well in consecutive games this season.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by nightfx

I feel like someone has said this every single time Smith has had a decent game. He has yet to play well in consecutive games this season.

Which is a problem that needs to be fixed, and the only way to fix it is to get Smith some consecutive starts. I would prefer he gets this sorted out sooner rather than later.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by activeStick

Tonight's choice for starter, along with the next number of games, will be a good indicator of where Peters is at on Rittich replacing Smith as the number 1. No back to back until next Saturday and Sunday. Smith getting any start before either the December 8 or 9 game without a horrible showing by Rittich would be slightly disappointing.

Do you think backups should only play in back to backs?

IMO even if Rittich has the nod as number one, it doesn't mean it will be a standard 1 and 2 situation, given he's not done it before other than when Smith got hurt (and then wasn't a standout). I still think it will be a more gradual transition.

There's also the fact that Smith is coming off a solid win (should have been a SO) and Rittich a loss (not his fault when his team can't score any goals, but there it is).

[868904]

Originally Posted by EVERLAST

Hope to see Kylington show something we've been waiting to see......just be noticed in a positive light.

Go Flames Go

Kylington was weak in the board battles but he made a few high end offensive plays. There was one setup for Neal (I think) that was very cool and showed off his vision and hockey IQ in the offensive end. That was probably the most impactful game i've seen him in at the NHL level. He certainly looks more confident. I think with Kylington, Flames are going to have to live with some defensive deficiencies.

As for the game itself. In the Gully era, this is the type of game the Flames lose. Tired opponent who lost with a poor effort the night before. Let's see if Peters can get these guys focused.

[Stanley]

Originally Posted by nightfx

I feel like someone has said this every single time Smith has had a decent game. He has yet to play well in consecutive games this season.

THIS.

He always follows up a good game with a stinker. That alone merits a Rittich start. You want Smith going? That's great, let him play well in one-off games on the road. It's not that complicated.

[TheIronMaiden]

The bottom line is that Rittich should not play more than 60 games this season.
He has already played 12. So that means of the 58 remaining games he shouldn't play in more than 48 of them. That means that Smith like it or not will play at minimum 10 more games this year. The Flames, and Fans need to think pragmatically about which games Smith should start.

The Flames playing are playing a slumping team on the second night of a back facing their backup, and possibly their third stringer. This game fits the definition of what one of those ten games should be.

[Split98]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Which is a problem that needs to be fixed, and the only way to fix it is to get Smith some consecutive starts. I would prefer he gets this sorted out sooner rather than later.

1 more game of patience brings us to that opportunity.

I do think that Smith starting tonight is a sign that they don't have much faith in Rittich carrying the load. In a tandem situation, Arizona being a Smith game is a good fit... but the 1A needs to be playing against the better teams. With LA and CHI coming up, this is the 1A goalie game.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Which is a problem that needs to be fixed, and the only way to fix it is to get Smith some consecutive starts. I would prefer he gets this sorted out sooner rather than later.

Well that's one way to think of it. Another viewpoint is that he's not able to start B2B without playing poorly for the second game.

[LWcrowfoot]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Which is a problem that needs to be fixed, and the only way to fix it is to get Smith some consecutive starts. I would prefer he gets this sorted out sooner rather than later.

Sooner rather than later? Sure, that'd be nice. The other option however is that he never figures it out. Smith is a 36 year old goalie, 37 before the season finishes. The odds of him being done are much greater than figuring it out.

Mike came in, played well against the Coyotes, got the win. Good. That's what a back up should do. Thank him for the W and go back with your starter.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Split98

Rittich put up a .929 against 28 shots in a losing effort
Smith put up a .966 against 29 shots in a drubbing

I don't think you can confidently say that swapping their starts would have resulted in the same statline. We trounced Vegas 4 days earlier so they came to play, and the other game was Arizona.

I was at the Vegas game. They weren't that good, actually - it didn't seem like they were really fired up about the loss. The Flames were worse, though and didn't give any run support. Rittich wasn't really tested that much in that game IMO. Fleury was just a little better.

As for the next game, AZ isn't that bad a team, either, drubbing or no. Smith made a few good saves. And he deserved a shutout, but Hamonic messed up and felt badly about it.

At this point they are playing two weak teams so the choice of starts shouldn't matter. The only thing I would suggest is that it's safer to start Smith on the road, because any semi-soft goal will cause the home crowd to get on him. Rittich will get more leeway.

[sureLoss]

News Update

Pat Steinberg @Fan960Steinberg
David Rittich in the starter’s net this morning. Looks like he’ll start tonight vs. Dallas. Will confirm shortly.

Pat Steinberg @Fan960Steinberg
Projected #Flames tonight vs. Dallas:

Gaudreau-Monahan-Lindholm
Tkachuk-Backlund-Bennett
Czarnik-Ryan-Neal
Dube-Jankowski-Hathaway

Giordano-Brodie
Hanifin-Hamonic
Kylington-Andersson

Rittich

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

The team needs to go with the goalie that gives them the best chance to win. Period. Especially when playing another playoff caliber team like the Stars. At this point you play Smith against weaker teams and allow Rittich to play himself out of the primary role.

No. The Flames should have their eye on playing deep in the playoffs, and with the goalies they have on the roster this means managing their starts all the way into the stretch-drive. There is a real danger that the Flames ride Rittich and he falters, and a real chance that a rusty and deflated Smith is not in a position to pick up the mantle.

I've watched too many years of ho-hum Flames hockey to be content watching another where we actually have the horses go down the drain because of shoddy, inconsistent netminding from Smith. The Flames don't need both guys going, they just need one guy to not let in terrible, deflating goals nearly every time he plays.

You could not be more wrong about this. Like I said above, this is a reactionary panic-play with no view to how long the season is, nor how dramatically things can change from one week to the next. I expect the coaches will select their starter on the basis of who looks best ready to win, and with a view to how best to keep them both on top of their games. Not based on some knee-jerk fear about who is most likely to fail.

[Split98]

Phew

[Ullr]

This is the news we needed ^

[Toonage]

Rittich in? Its official. I love Bill Peters.

And Dave.

[TheIronMaiden]

Seven Things to Watch for Tonight

1. Sam Bennett will tie Doug Gilmour in games played as a Flame tonight with 266 games. They will share the 70th spot for a moment.
   
2. Sean Monahan is one point from tying Craig Conroy and becoming 20th in all time points as a Flame.
3. Mark Giordano is one point from passing Jay Bouwmeester and becoming 106th in all time points as an NHL defenceman.
   
4. David Rittich is only one win away from tying Jeff Reese and Jamie McLennan becoming 19th in all times wins as a Flames goalie.
5. Mark Giordano is one goal from tying Tim Horton and becoming 69th all time in NHL scoring as a defencemen.
6. Johnny Gaudreau is one assist from passing Craig Conroy and becoming 17th in all time assists as a Calgary Flame.
7. Sean Monahan is one game from tying Curtis Glencross and becoming 29th all time in games played as a Flame.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by nightfx

I feel like someone has said this every single time Smith has had a decent game. He has yet to play well in consecutive games this season.

I thought he had a good back to back starts versus Washington and Toronto.

We are still very early in the season, I think it would be crazy to deal with absolutes as things will change a lot over the course of the season. I think the coaching staff already has given Rittich more starts than they anticipated this season.

Bottom line rebuilding Smith confidence and game is only going to help this team this season. To be honest the Flames have some rope to play with when they are sitting where they are in the standings.