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Old 10-22-2018, 02:32 PM   #21
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Interesting that he gives Smith the net back against MTL but good to see that he's sticking to a schedule this time.

You would have to think that this game against MTL will be important if Smith wants to keep some starts on the upcoming goalie schedule. I think that 4 on one off is going to slide to 3-2, 2-2... 2-3 really quick if Rittich keeps up.
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Old 10-22-2018, 03:11 PM   #22
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Rittich was a great back up and a lousy starter last year, he's getting poised to make the leap from backup to starter, but I don't think getting thrown to the wolves again is going to help his development. If he keeps his play up, I'd like to see him eased into the starters spot over the course of the season, go 1 for 1 with Smith to end the season and start the playoffs (again, if he keeps it up)
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Old 10-22-2018, 03:28 PM   #23
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Barring injuries I hope the split ends up 55/27, with 55 games being the absolute max Smith plays.

The team needs to learn how to play well no matter who is in net.
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Old 10-22-2018, 03:43 PM   #24
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I think the way to do it is ease him into from occasional back up like he was last year, to full time back up this year, and hopefully he's good to play 25 to 35 games this year. Then you re-evaluate to see where he's at and if he's got starter potential. Maybe he becomes a tandem next year, and you sign a veteran like Rinne short term, and then ease him into starter.

But I mean, this is all pure speculation based on two games this season. Lets see what Rittich can do with a heavier workload. I do like his temperament so far though. Let's hope for the best. God knows this organization needs one goalie to take the ball and run with it.
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Old 10-22-2018, 03:46 PM   #25
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So far it is on the path to becoming a 60/20 split Smith to Rittich. I don't think that is too crazy. Seems in line with Smiths career averages.

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Old 10-22-2018, 03:52 PM   #26
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Smith plays against Montreal and Rittich gets one of Pittsburgh or Washington - probably Washington if Smith wins against Montreal and Pittsburgh if he loses.
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Old 10-22-2018, 03:56 PM   #27
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Please be our next Kiprusoff please be our next Kiprusoff
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Old 10-22-2018, 04:04 PM   #28
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Please be our next Kiprusoff please be our next Kiprusoff
No such thing
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Old 10-22-2018, 04:08 PM   #29
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We'll get our next Kiprusoff just as the team starts to tank again. Saving us from a Top 3 pick off course.
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Old 10-22-2018, 04:16 PM   #30
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Rather see Rittich get the start.

IMO you need to see what you have in him.

You know what you have in Smith, and it's not very good and it won't win you more than a series in the playoffs. Need to see what rittich can do, and should find out as early in the season as possible.

Feels like this team is in a window, or about to enter one, and need to take advantage of that right now.
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Old 10-22-2018, 04:23 PM   #31
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Let's let Rittich learn how to be a full time backup before we pencil him in as full time starter after one game.
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Old 10-22-2018, 04:30 PM   #32
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Rather see Rittich get the start.

IMO you need to see what you have in him.

You know what you have in Smith, and it's not very good and it won't win you more than a series in the playoffs. Need to see what rittich can do, and should find out as early in the season as possible.

Feels like this team is in a window, or about to enter one, and need to take advantage of that right now.
You don’t see what you have in him based on this game, and as has been said: it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Rittich hasn’t earned anything but the backup role. He didn’t earn the starter spot last year, and he did nothing for his chances in preseason. Let him absolutely own the backup role and evaluate as the season goes on. If Rittich continues to outplay Smith, the gaps between games will become shorter, or cease to exist by season’s end. I understand people are desperate for the answer to the goaltending question, but handing the reigns to Rittich after two games is not how you find it, and it’s not how goaltenders earn the job.
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Old 10-22-2018, 04:40 PM   #33
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We have two good but not great goalies. The sooner people accept that the easier it'll be to not be disappointed when whoever is the fan favorite at any given moment doesn't play. Best plan is to roll them all year to keep them fresh.
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Old 10-22-2018, 04:41 PM   #34
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I tend to agree we need to be patient with Rittich.

As a backup I would go as far as to say, in his limited viewings in the role, he has been outstanding. He has easily been one of the best backups in the league, even if the sample size is too small to justify such a claim.

When he was a starter he was terrible.

Let him continue to thrive as a backup and ease him into a bigger role.

Thrusting it upon him after Smith went down didn't do him any favours.
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Old 10-22-2018, 05:50 PM   #35
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Quote:
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Rather see Rittich get the start.

IMO you need to see what you have in him.

You know what you have in Smith, and it's not very good and it won't win you more than a series in the playoffs. Need to see what rittich can do, and should find out as early in the season as possible.

Feels like this team is in a window, or about to enter one, and need to take advantage of that right now.
I agree. I want to see how Rittich holds up now, not when Smith has an injury or something and we have no other choice.
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Old 10-22-2018, 06:24 PM   #36
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Agree 100% with starting Smith. He's a pro. After Rittich's insane performance against the Rangers, Smith will have all the motivation to match, or else lose the starter's net. If he does falter, give the net to Rittich.

On the other hand, Rittich has shown he plays best as a back up. I can definitely see Rittich falter if he plays against Montreal, just like how a lot of fans anticipated Smith's struggles in St. Louis after shutting out Nashville the game before.
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Old 10-23-2018, 05:39 AM   #37
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In 18 career starts, Rittich is up to 12 "quality starts" for a .667 QS%

Here's a list of all other goaltenders with a .620 or better QS% over the last decade with as many starts:

Antti Ranta - 85 quality starts / 130 starts
Andrew Hammond - 33 QS / 49 GS
Juuse Saros - 29 QS / 46 GS
Linus Ulmark - 17 QS / 26 GS

Rittich is actually the only guy in this group with a SV% less than .921 but has the fewest GP - which speaks to how much his outlier bad games (@Vegas) drag him down. The one thing that stands out about this list is that it's not a list containing "starters". While starters are able to put up a QS% over .620 in their up years (e.g. Gibson @ 39 qs out of 60 starts last year) they have their down years too (Gibson only 28 qs out of 49 starts the year prior). And perhaps ALL goalies need more time between starts to recover, as baseball has discovered with pitcher rotations. Often what makes a starter is not actual "consistency" but "being named the starter" - a chicken-and-egg scenario. All you can do to name a starter is look at what you have in a backup.

Looking at these five backups, then:

Hammond is a wierd case as no one seems to believe in him being anything more than a hot run in 2014-15 (even though fifteen of his twenty-six starts since then were QS) but the other three guys are all interesting cases. Raanta is a guy many of us wanted to acquire before Arizona won the sweepstakes. Saros is the guy many of us want to acquire right now. Ulmark is off to a nice start this year and appears to be in Buffalo's future plans.

I can't tell you if Rittich is "a future starter" given the sheer subjectivity of being named a starter - but he does seem to be a damn good goalie who, if he plays the next eighteen starts as dependable as he played the last eighteen, should deserve to be named a starter. And he certainly deserves at least eighteen more starts this season.

Of course, once someone is named a starter they can't go Darling and have a terrible year, but it's a risk you take. A risk Edmonton took with Talbot, a risk Arizona took with Raanta, a risk the Jets took with Hellebuyck.
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