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

[jg13]

Goaltending is irrelevant when you score 4 goals per game.

Proven again tonight.

[The Boy Wonder]

Smith still is at best a below average backup by the end of the regular season as far as stats go.

That is not the most likely guy to win you rounds in playoffs

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by The Boy Wonder

Smith still is at best a below average backup by the end of the regular season as far as stats go.

That is not the most likely guy to win you rounds in playoffs

Well, if we are looking at stats only, sure, since his first half will pretty much eclipse any positive stats in the last half. But if he goes into the POs on a huge roll, he is more likely, stats or not. Same goes for Rittich.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by Robbob

Don't understand why there is a need to be so miserable. Just enjoy the game, enjoy the team, this is supposed to be fun. So just sit back and enjoy the ride.

For sure, wins are good, and it's fun now. At this point, playoffs are pretty much a lock. It makes me nervous that this fantastic season can potentially come to an early end because the Flames don't address the Achilles heel of the team.

Again, just my opinion. I'm not a negative nelly normally. I just don't trust Smith's goaltending whatsoever. His play hasn't given me any confidence he can be a starter. He's doing ok as a backup. But you need more than an average backup if you want to succeed in the playoffs.

At this point, all my hope lies in Rittich being able to carry the play come playoff time.

[Dube]

Not even close to getting the warm fuzzie feeling. He’s proven himself to be a house of cards.

[DeluxeMoustache]

He’s kind of playing like an acceptable backup, albeit with 4 straight starts, and the team generally winning, though not necessarily due to him being a difference maker.

Gladly take the 2 points.

[jonkaupp]

Smith is playing much better, there is no doubt. The worry is understanding why he’s gotten 4 starts in a row, it seems to be evidence that the team has decided to make him the starter which to many of us is still unacceptable. Rittich undoubtedly deserves to be the starter, many of us are rightfully puzzled by the teams decision here.

If Smith goes real hot and has a great run then I will eat crow but I have very little faith in that happening. Rittich should never sit for 4 straight, we need him not only for the playoffs but for seasons beyond.

[calgarywinning]

Can anyone provide an example of a goaltender with Mike Smith's stat's that has won a Stanley cup in the last two decades? I'm curious.

I believe this is the need we need to address, i'd love to see otherwise. Rittich has had some great stretches, but again when the first line was scoring at will. Cups are won when goaltenders steal a game here and there, and I don't think we have that.

[Lanny_McDonald]

With Smith in net I am nervous every time the puck enters our zone, feel like every shot that makes it through to him has a 50/50 chance of going in, and know that no lead is safe. Not the situation you want.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by New Era

With Smith in net I am nervous every time the puck enters our zone, feel like every shot that makes it through to him has a 50/50 chance of going in, and know that no lead is safe. Not the situation you want.

I feel that way too but the reality is he is playing better. Hopefully it continues and we learn to relax.

I’m much more confident with Rittich but the reality is he is playing no better lately, possibly worse.

[gunnner]

Alot of what was wrong with Smith was technical, the lunging forward and lack of squareness was unreal...that looks a bit better, but i also think he is 36 and an old 36 it seems. the rest did him wonders, i think playing him anything more than 1/2 of the rest of the way is a bad idea.

[Toonage]

Neither of the goals last night were on Smith, but he was back to his old lunging flopping ways for a fair bit of that game. Concerning? Don't know yet as he was also feeling it and playing the puck a bunch so clearly pretty confident.

A tale of two Smittys.

[Matata]

I think they are just trying to give rittich a chance to reset himself and give Smith some confidence. He's still been playing a lot of games for a young goalie, hasn't look good since the break and had a down turn around this time last year that lasted the rest of the season. On the positive side, rittich rebounded really well when he had a similar slump earlier on in the season.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by jonkaupp

The worry is understanding why he’s gotten 4 starts in a row, it seems to be evidence that the team has decided to make him the starter which to many of us is still unacceptable.

It shouldn't be too difficult. He's playing well and has won his last three games. He shouldn't need to make 50 saves a night to justify getting a string of games.

It also doesn't mean he's going to be the starter for the rest of the season. Rittich will get an opportunity again to win back the net. If he's so mentally fragile that sitting him out for four games is so horrible then he's not the goalie we hope he is.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Toonage

Neither of the goals last night were on Smith, but he was back to his old lunging flopping ways for a fair bit of that game. Concerning? Don't know yet as he was also feeling it and playing the puck a bunch so clearly pretty confident.

A tale of two Smittys.

Yeah, concerning. When Smith is lunging and flopping, it means he's not tracking the puck. Which means an awful, embarrassing goal against is always a much higher probability.

He seemed to have gotten it back under control as the game went on though, which is good to see.

[Geeoff]

Credit where it's due. 3 good games in a row for Smith. He was really frustrating the Islanders with his puckhandling

[Classic_Sniper]

Even though he only had a .895 sv%, I thought he made some good saves in the 3rd period and had complete command of the puck all game. It was a terrific performance. I still want to see him get peppered with high quality scoring chances in one game just to see if he’s truly back or whether this is just fool’s gold.

To Smith’s credit, I think his play this week has quelled any notion of burning assets for a Jimmy Howard.


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[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

Can anyone provide an example of a goaltender with Mike Smith's stat's that has won a Stanley cup in the last two decades? I'm curious.

I believe this is the need we need to address, i'd love to see otherwise. Rittich has had some great stretches, but again when the first line was scoring at will. Cups are won when goaltenders steal a game here and there, and I don't think we have that.

It remains the biggest concern to be sure. The question is can that be addressed at the deadline? Highly unlikely. Particularly as I think it has potentially shifted about being a concern about upgrading the back-up to perhaps needing to upgrade the position overall.
I don't think it is likely anything changes until the summer.

[Roof-Daddy]

I don't think they can make a change until the off season either.

Here's hoping that Smith can be the anti-Brain Elliot when the playoffs arrive, if he gets the net. It was 7 years ago now, but Smith absolutely destroyed the playoffs when he got the chance. Stellar numbers. Let's just hope he's one of those guys that clutches up big time with everything on the line.

[Macindoc]

Being at centre ice for last night's game, what I saw seems to contradict what many others have posted. I found Smith to be much calmer in the net than he was in the first half of the season (with the exception of his incessant urge to play the puck), farther out of the net to challenge shooters, and more square to the puck (although he seemed a bit shaky in the five hole). The only lunging I saw followed redirections or cross-ice passes, although I did see him drop his stick once. I also noticed that opposition players seem quite comfortable bumping him when he plays the puck, on plays that I have often seen called goaltender interference in other situations, so his reputation for aggressively playing the puck seems to have made officials less protective of him than they are of other goalies.

At this point, I don't think that the Flames regard Smith as a true #1, but rather as a 1A/1B in a win-and-you're-in tandem. I think they recognize that Rittich has regressed due to being over-worked, as he has played more games this year than at any previous time in his career, and his play deteriorated last season when he was asked to make the transition from backup to #1 when Smith was injured. I think the Flames would be wise to manage Rittich's minutes to avoid him being burned out by the time the playoffs start, and having a confident Smith to turn to if Rittich falters gives them the best chance, short of selling the farm for a true #1.