[PGT] Mike Smith loses the game with 2 abysmal goals against. Flames lose to Habs 3-2.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Voodooman

What makes me crazy (and this isn’t just the Flames, it’s league wide) is the absolute lack of accountability the players are held to. Peters first statement in the post-game should have been “Mike Smith cost us this game.”

Forget all this team building BS, and not losing the room, blah, blah, blah. These guys are being paid millions of dollars per year to perform, and if they don’t, they should be called out. Don’t say things like “We have confidence that Smitty can find his game.” No you don’t.

At least call the guy out and see if he has any pride at all, and responds to a public dressing down.

No....just no.

You want t have good relationships with your players? The ONE thing you dont do is blast them in the media. Its a very poor way of handling guys who know they are struggling. the other guys in the room know Smith is fighting it, Smith knows he is fighting it,,, so who is it going to benefit to throw Smith under the bus? It's just a form of blood lust by fans.

Peters did this to Lack in Carolina and really quickly realized what a mistake it was.

“You won’t get the Eddie Lack sound bite so play that today and move on,” said Peters Monday of the 51-second clip in which he talks about how Lack had to earn the respect of his teammates for being ranked 60th in save percentage in a 30-team league.

“I learned from that. Not a proud moment as a coach. It was a little over the top. I apologized to Eddie that day. I apologized to (Carolina GM) Ronnie (Francis) when it happened, so let’s get that one out of the way.

“First call after I leave here is get ahold of Smitty (Mike Smith), (David) Rittich, (Tyler) Parsons and (Jon) Gillies and make sure they know they’re not going to get that one. You’ve got to build relationships with these guys and get on the same page and accomplish things together as a team.”

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/...past-mistakes/

Just give Rittich the reins the next 3 or 4 games, see if Smith can find his game in practice and go from there.....but do it all within the room and not on the radio/tv/newspapers etc.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by flambers

Personally i have no issues with Peter's, he has no choice but keep placing Smith in the net hoping he can regain his game.

Rittich is a good backup, however I don't see him playing 50+ games.

Well then start booking the bars for an Oilers-type lotto draft party!

[Flamenspiel]

I kind of like the sound of that(Peters comments), they need to really see what they have at the NHL level and take stock of all 4 goalies.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by bigrangy

As bad as Smith has been, playoff Elliott was much, much worse.

This is 100% unequivocally false. The stats do not back that up nor does the fact that the Flames made the playoffs with Elliott starting 49 games. The Flames missed the playoffs last season with Smith as the starter and will likely miss the playoffs this season if he's still the starter by the end of the season. Sure Elliott had the playoff meltdown but the Flames would kill for Smith to have Elliot's stats as a Flame right now.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by transplant99

No....just no.

You want t have good relationships with your players? The ONE thing you dont do is blast them in the media. Its a very poor way of handling guys who know they are struggling. the other guys in the room know Smith is fighting it, Smith knows he is fighting it,,, so who is it going to benefit to throw Smith under the bus? It's just a form of blood lust by fans.

Peters did this to Lack in Carolina and really quickly realized what a mistake it was.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/...past-mistakes/

Just give Rittich the reins the next 3 or 4 games, see if Smith can find his game in practice and go from there.....but do it all within the room and not on the radio/tv/newspapers etc.

It's never a good look for a coach to trash players openly in the media. It's not good for the locker room or team building. All he needs to do is let his actions do the talking and start playing the other guy until he falters.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Flamenspiel

He did not have a strong showing in SJ, its just that a lot of people have been conditioned to just how bad he is, it was still not up to whats expected of an average NHL goalie. The low shot across the net by Kane would be an easy save for most NHL goalies.

Yes, it appears that even the coaching staff has now been conditioned to expect an extremely poor goaltending performance from Smith, when its only poor or fair it has become "ok".

He totally had a good showing in SJ. You are letting one iffy goal colour your view of the game. The Flames didn't deserve to win that one and it would have been 5-1 if Smith hadn't made a bunch of tough saves.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

This is 100% unequivocally false. The stats do not back that up nor does the fact that the Flames made the playoffs with Elliott starting 49 games. The Flames missed the playoffs last season with Smith as the starter and will likely miss the playoffs this season if he's still the starter by the end of the season. Sure Elliott had the playoff meltdown but the Flames would kill for Smith to have Elliot's stats as a Flame right now.

.880 Save% 3.88 GAA (Elliot PO #s)

vs

.876 Save% and 3.48 GAA (Smith this season)

Both are abysmal

[The Boy Wonder]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

He totally had a good showing in SJ. You are letting one iffy goal colour your view of the game. The Flames didn't deserve to win that one and it would have been 5-1 if Smith hadn't made a bunch of tough saves.

He wasn't great or really much above average in the sharks game. It was an outing like we should expect from a starting goalie...

We shouldn't be pointing to that game as an example of him playing well, because starts like that one in SJ won't win games against more than half the teams in this league.

Other than that he has been awfully bad

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Hackey

I dont think calling Mike Smith out is going to make him play better. Im sure he is fully aware of how bad he is playing and so is everyone else. Peters calling him out in the media might be satisfying as a pissed off fan but I dont see it helping the team or Smith. Whats more important to me is that Rittich gets the next start and as long as he plays decent gets to start again. I fully expect that to happen. If it doesnt that is likely my breaking point as a fan. The way last night unfolded should be the final straw. Im sure Treliving is considering all options as well like he always does. Landing a future goalie is unlikely to happen at this point in the season though. If people are expecting that any time soon i think youll be in for a frustrating season. This off season or trade deadline seems most promising. Hopefully Rittich is ready for a bigger role.

This. What possible good would it do to publicly humiliate Smith? His post-game comments confirm he knows what he did (as if he wouldn't). And listen to Hamonic and Tkachuk. They were both asked by the media to comment on Smith and they didn't.

It's not just about Smith either - players hate it when a teammate is trashed publicly.

[gamesaver]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

The worse Smith plays, the more pressure there is on Rittich to prove he can carry the load. That’s not ideal.

This is exactly it. They are wasting golden opportunities to let him build of good starts, get used to starting games in row and establish himself in the league. When is the right time to go with Rittich? When we are trailing in wild card race and every game is a must win?

Wondering if caps would win anything last season if they were as stubborn with Holtby as we are with Smith. They would probably missed the playoffs.

That is the difference between great franchise and mediocre one. Pens are rolling with DeSmith right now as their starter, because Matt Murray is struggling. But Murray is 24, makes 3,75m a year, is going to be RFA in 2021 and has won 2 cups already. It would make much more sense if he was getting the Smith treatment, because he has a future with the organisation. But he is not getting it. Because Pens want to win. Simple as that.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by transplant99

.880 Save% 3.88 GAA (Elliot PO #s)

vs

.876 Save% and 3.48 GAA (Smith this season)

Both are abysmal

Smith has a way better team right now and actually has goal support. Elliot crapped the bed in the playoffs but he was average in the regular season. Otherwise we wouldn't have made the playoffs...

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by The Boy Wonder

He wasn't great or really much above average in the sharks game. It was an outing like we should expect from a starting goalie...

We shouldn't be pointing to that game as an example of him playing well, because starts like that one in SJ won't win games against more than half the teams in this league.

Other than that he has been awfully bad

He made some really great saves in that game, against the top team in the Pacific, projected by many to be a SC contender. I'm down on Smith, like everyone else, but his game in SJ was way tougher than Rittich's in LA. Smith plays like that and this team wins most games. But he obviously hasn't played like that (nor has the team usually played as badly)

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

He totally had a good showing in SJ. You are letting one iffy goal colour your view of the game. The Flames didn't deserve to win that one and it would have been 5-1 if Smith hadn't made a bunch of tough saves.

If they started Rittich there would have been a great chance of him not letting in the 1st shot of the game.... You know, not deflating the entire team 2 minutes in. The entire game would have been different.
The Sharks are pretty terrible this year and Karlsson is playing like he wants to be in Sweden next year.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by transplant99

.880 Save% 3.88 GAA (Elliot PO #s)

vs

.876 Save% and 3.48 GAA (Smith this season)

Both are abysmal

Smith hasn't played a playoff game as a Flames so for accuracy sake lets stick to regular season stats and I already mentioned that Elliott crapped the bed in the playoffs but at least he got the Flames that far. Besides that playoff performance cost Elliott his job with the Flames. Smith keeps getting starts.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

If they started Rittich there was great chances of him not letting in the 1st shot of the game.... You know not deflate the entire team 2 minutes in. The entire game would have been different.
The Sharks are pretty terrible this year and Karlsson is playing like he wants to be in Sweden next year.

The "pretty terrible" Sharks are in first place in the Pacific.

Sure, the first goal was not great. It didn't deflate the team as far as I saw.
And Smith played a good game after that. The Flames couldn't finish in that game - Backlund's whiff, Jankowski's point blank shot into the pads and Bennett's weak penalty shot. That's 4-1.

If you are right and the Flames can't rebound over 58 minutes from one goal, when the goalie comes back and makes a bunch of 10 bell saves, then they aren't the team I thought they were. If a weak goal deflates them, then a great save (of which there were 3-5) should pump them up.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

The "pretty terrible" Sharks are in first place in the Pacific.

Sure, the first goal was not great. It didn't deflate the team as far as I saw.
And Smith played a good game after that. The Flames couldn't finish in that game - Backlund's whiff, Jankowski's point blank shot into the pads and Bennett's weak penalty shot. That's 4-1.

If you are right and the Flames can't rebound over 58 minutes from one goal, when the goalie comes back and makes a bunch of 10 bell saves, then they aren't the team I thought they were. If a weak goal deflates them, then a great save (of which there were 3-5) should pump them up.

The pretty terrible Canucks and Flames are 2nd and 3rd. The Sharks will be hard pressed to make the playoffs this year.

Sure they would be mental midgets if it was 1 weak goal. How many weak goals has Smith let in since he came back from his groin injury? 30?

What kind of message does it send to the team when your goalie gets a shut out, has the 2nd best gaa, 3rd best save% in the league and gets promptly benched for 2 straight games?

But whatever. There were plenty of guys defending Smith after the Sharks game. You got paid last nite! haha

[Stay Golden]

It's been a while since I was this angry after a Flames game mainly due to Mike Smith and being forced to listen to all the yo-yo''s screaming Ole Ole leaving the dome.
Peter's better not start Smith vs the Greasers on Saturday night.
Too big of a game to gamble on Smith.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

The pretty terrible Canucks and Flames are 2nd and 3rd. The Sharks will be hard pressed to make the playoffs this year.

Sure they would be mental midgets if it was 1 weak goal. How many weak goals has Smith let in since he came back from his groin injury? 30?

What kind of message does it send to the team when your goalie gets a shut out, has the 2nd best gaa, 3rd best save% in the league and gets promptly benched for 2 straight games?

But whatever. There were plenty of guys defending Smith after the Sharks game. You got paid last nite! haha

Canucks were a flash in the pan. The Flames are a good team.

You seem to revel in the fact Smith had a bad game because you think it proved people wrong about the Sharks game. (a) It didn't and (b) that's pretty sad.

[Classic_Sniper]

The stat that confuses me the most is that Mike Smith has 5 wins and 8 losses, David Rittich has 5 wins and only 1 loss. How is it not more obvious that we should've been playing Rittich yesterday or even against San Jose. You'd think that after years of porous goaltending with Carolina that once Peters found himself a decent one, that he would run with him and never look back. But for some reason that hasn't happened.

The Flames should've kept Karri Ramo. Really bad decision in letting him go. He was the best of the bunch and gave us consistent goaltending every season he was here. I'll take a .911 sv% and a playoff round win over whatever junk we've had since. All we've done is manage to do blow assets on trading for Brian Elliott and Mike Smith and it's gotten us no where so far.

[temple5]

I 1/2 think they were still pushing Smith because they dont want to have to pay Rittich as much.

But after so many softies by Smith and so many rock solid games by Rittich how is he not the horse until he at least loses you a game. I do think with Rittich we have to be willing to have him lose a game or 2 and still start so long as he plays well.

Honestly 6 goals in 4 games by this team is also a problem, not many NHL goalies today will win you 4 games - you'd be lucky to win 2.

This is the first game in a few where the team played well and it was a goalie error that costed us at least 1 pt.