[News] Mar. 14 Practice Notes

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by Toonage

I am curious if Smith's illness means Rittich gets the nod tomorrow

Rittich should start the next game independent of Smith's status. The coaching staff and team need to pump him full of courage and confidence before playoffs. More starts=good unless he is battling a nagging injury.

[AC]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Rittich should start the next game independent of Smith's status. The coaching staff and team need to pump him full of courage and confidence before playoffs. More starts=good unless he is battling a nagging injury.

And then play Smith in Winnipeg? Tough call, probably better to start your #1 against the team you have to beat in the Rangers.

[activeStick]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

I am confident that even if Neal replaces Hathaway in the lineup there is no chance that he replaces him on the PK.

Yeah, it's a pretty strange assumption that Neal wojld replace Hathaway on the PK. There's a number of guys who can play the PK before Neal gets tapped on the shoulder - Backlund, Lindholm, Ryan, Frolik, Bennett, Jankowski are all regulars and then for the non-regulars, there's a few the Flames would likely put out there before Neal.

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by AC

And then play Smith in Winnipeg? Tough call, probably better to start your #1 against the team you have to beat in the Rangers.

Play rittich against both.

[Erick Estrada]

I got no problem starting Rittich against the Rangers and Smith against the Jets. The Flames need to ensure they beat the Rangers and it's not like the Jets are playing well right now and the Flames typically measure up well against the Jets. It's not like there's been a major disparity between Smith and Rittich's play of late as they have both been pretty mediocre.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Play rittich against both.

Well, that's not going to happen, and I don't think it is a particularly good idea to begin with.

[CsInMyBlood]

Originally Posted by midniteowl

https://twitter.com/user/status/1106276035861987330

Kid skates better than Neal.