Goaltending

[kehatch]

MacDonald and Ramo: 

• Oct 3: Ramo earns the first start in camp.  He has a decent game against a power offense of Washington in his (basically) NHL debut.  He loses in a SO.
• Oct 4: MacDonald gets the start.  Second of a back to back so fair enough.  He does what he does.  Rarely bad.  Rarely good.  But he has a decent game and he gets the win.
• Oct 6: MacDonald gets another start.  The coach says that he got the win so he gets to start.  Again, fair enough.  He lets in 5 goals on 28 shots.  Despite that he isn't completely horrific.  The game gets to OT.  
• Oct 9: The first perplexing goalie decision.  MacDonald gets the start again.  Ramo has only one game to this point and MacDonald wasn't very good the game before.  Sitting Ramo for a week isn't making much sense.  Fortunately MacDonald puts in his only great game of the season and gets the first star and the win. 
• Oct 11: After the great game previously MacDonald gets the start.  Understandable this time.  MacDonald is okay.  He doesn't see much work but he keeps the goals against at 2 and gets the win. 
• Oct 16: After a five day break and on the back of two wins the Flames go with MacDonald.  Can't blame them too much.  But Ramo has sat for two weeks now and only has one game played.  Meanwhile the Flames are playing 33 year old career back-up as the starter.  MacDonald isn't great in this one.  He lets in 3 goals on 22 shots (all at EV) and the Flames lose one where they outplayed the opponent. 
• Oct 19: 16 days later Ramo gets his second start.  The Flames are absolutely stomped by the Sharks in what might be (to that point) the worst game of the season.  Ramo lets in 5 on 35 shots.  Though 3 are on the PP.  
• Oct 21: The Flames break the trend and give Ramo the start despite the prior mediocre game.  He rewards them with the win.  The Flames are out shot but Ramo is perfect EV and keeps the GA down to 2 on special teams.
• Oct 22: It is the second game in a back to back so MacDonald predictably gets the start.  The Flames aren't good tonight.  MacDonald is his usual okay but gets the loss.  
• Oct 24: Back to Ramo.  The Flames can't play Dallas this season.  This one is no exception.  The Flames and Ramo are both pretty dreadful in this one. 
• Oct 26: The Flames are showing some patience in Ramo.  Plus, it is pretty clear they are done with MacDonald.  Despite the bad start the game before he gets to go again.  Good thing they do as the Flames put together their best game of the season.  Ramo is really good as well.  Good win. 
• Oct 30: Ramo looks to be the starter now.  After a four day break and a win the game before he gets the predictable start.  Too bad.  The goalie on the other end (Bernier) was better then Ramo this night.  Despite out shooting the Leafs 43 to 21 the Flames lose 3-2.  
• Nov 1: MacDonald really struggled in this one.  The Flames played a decent game against Detroit.  But MacDonald let in 4 on 22 shots.  The Flames could only score 3 times.  

Berra and Ramo: 

• Nov 3: MacDonald gets demoted and Berra gets the call.  He is up against Chicago in his first game.  An odd decision since Ramo is rested.  But Hartley has been chomping at the bit since camp to get Berra in the net so in the net he goes.  It is a fortunate decision as Berra plays one of his only great games of the season and gets first star and the OT win. 
• Nov 5: You have to give Berra the start after his last game.  Unfortunately he isn't very good.  In what might be one of the worst performances by any Flame goalie this season he lets in 5 goals on 24 shots.  
• Nov 7: The decision to go with Berra again is a little odd.  Ramo hasn't played in over a week and Berra was dreadful the game before.  But the Flames are entering a back to back so the goalies have to split the starts.  So it isn't that odd.  Neither the Flames or Berra are very good.  The Flames post the loss. 
• Nov 8: The Flames look like they are on the second half of a back to back.  Ramo is mediocre and gets the 4-2 loss. 
• Nov 12: With Ramo only getting a start on the back to back so far in November many looked for him to get the start.  But Berra goes in.  Neither was great in the prior two games so it is an odd but defensible decision.  Berra has a pretty darn good game.  He gets the first star despite the OT loss.  
• Nov 14: Going with Berra is automatic after his last outing.  Unfortunately it is against Dallas.  And the Flames can't play Dallas.  Berra gets trounced and pulled half way through.  Ramo is a little better.  But not by much.  
• Nov 16: The coaching staff seems to like giving the goalies another shot after a bad start.  So Berra goes in.  The Flames dominate the first two periods.  But they fall apart in the third.  Berra's ability to let in soft goals is on display and he lets in 3 in the third period.  
• Nov 18: This is the first game where Hartley's bias to play Berra really shows.  To this point the only start Ramo has had in November was in the second of a back to back. Berra just had two pretty bad games.  There isn't any defense to playing Berra in this start.  Except that Berra plays pretty well.  Despite letting in four Berra brings the Flames to a SO that they have no business being in.  He then puts forward a great SO performance and gets the win. 
• Nov 20: Tough not to reward Berra with the start after the last game.  But Ramo has sat almost two weeks now and has one start in the month.  Meanwhile Berra hasn't been all that good. He isn't very good in what was one of the most boring hockey games of the year.  The Flames lose in OT.  
• Nov 22: In a bizarre decision Berra gets the start yet again.  The collective hockey world goes "huh".  The Flames win in spite of not very good goal tending.  Though Berra is once again good in the SO.  
• Nov 27: Somehow, someway, Berra gets the start again.  Sure he had the win the game before.  But he wasn't very good.  Ramo has had one start all month in the second of a back to back.  This is Berra's 10 start giving him more starts then any other Flames goalie.  And he joined the team just over 3 weeks ago.  Bizarre.  Berra isn't very good and records the loss.  But the Flames as a whole didn't play well.  
• Nov 29: Unbelievably Berra gets another start.  That leaves Ramo with two starts in November, both the second of a back to back.  Berra isn't good.  He gets pulled in the final 10 and Ramo comes in.   
• Nov 30: Ramo gets the second start of a back to back.  Thankfully he plays a really solid game.  This is the first time all season the Flames have let in less then 2 goals.  Ramo gets the first star and the win.  
• Dec 4: Tough not to give Ramo the start after the last game.  He backs up the prior performance with another 1 goal game.  This one despite seeing 30 shots on net.  

 

I didn't have a huge problem with the rotation in October.  I thought it was an odd decision to start MacDonald on Oct 9.  But when the decision pays off the coach gets a pass.  I think they played MacBackup way too much.  But the Flames were winning and all of the decisions on starts were defensible.  

 

November is another matter.  

 

Sending MacDonald down and calling up Berra made sense.  I didn't agree with the Nov 3 start against Chicago. But it paid off and they wanted to get Berra a game right away. So that was okay.  The Nov 7 decision to start Berra was a little odd as well.  But the coaching staff has consistently let their goalies get a game after a bad start.  More often then not they have been rewarded with a rebound game so I can't complain to much about that.  Nov 12 was another odd decision. But again, it paid off.  Plus, getting Berra some ice time is defensible.  And neither he or Ramo had been lights out recently.  Nov 16 was another of the rebound opportunities.  

 

Nov 18 though it all falls apart.  There isn't much defense to starting Berra.  It pays off though.  The start Nov 22 is even more bizarre.  But we win.  So the coaches are getting away with the odd decisions so far.  But the starts on Nov 27 and 29 aren't defensible.  Berra is getting the starts despite poor play and Ramo is rotting on the bench.   

 

Berra has had three good games.  His first game against Chicago.  His fourth game in an OT loss against San Jose.  His seventh game in a SO winner against Winnipeg.  His other 8 games have varied from Meh to Horrible.  That includes his last four games.  Which is why is was so perplexing that Hartley kept playing him while Ramo sat on the bench.  

 

I am not sold that Ramo will be an NHL starter. I am not even sold that he will be better then Berra.  He wasn't particularly good in October.  But he hasn't deserved the treatment he has received from the coach over the last half of November.  

 

Hopefully the last two weeks have removed the bias Hartley and the Flames have towards Berra.  From this point forward they should play the hot hand with no preference given to either goalie.  

[Kulstad]

Well, agreed Ramo earned the next start for sure, but on a side note, both Ramo and Berra have been improving which is a very good thing.  They are neck and neck in that area I find, one improves and the other has to catch up which was the intention from the onset of the season so basically Coaching and Mgt achieved that goal!

 

As long as both keep improving, and Heartly is fair with the starts I have no issues.  I think both are starting to get adjusted to the NA game and are now working on and starting to see some consistency with their games. 

 

I agree with this statement, and I also think this is an excellent summary/retort to Kehatch's long-winded statement above

[DirtyDeeds]

Honestly I could not think of anything I care less about than which of the Flames "NHL" goalies are the worst.

 

By NHL standards, none of them are good enough, and that's becoming very clear.  True, Ramo may not have been given enough opportunity yet.   But as things stand now, they don't cut it, and I've no solid reason to believe that's going to change.

 

All I care about is that we drop one of them.   Soon.    Joey MacDonald is hogging minutes in the AHL, and cutting into Ortio's development.  I'm not even really sure why, as Ortio has outplayed him.   But what matters most is that by Next season, we have something positive on the horizon.   That means developing Ortio, Lots, Now, unless Gillies signs early.  

I suppose back to back wins and back to back first stars of the game by Ramo supports your comments & opinions right?

 

What is beoming really clear is your mancrush on Ortio. Damned the rest of them in the running right now.

[DirtyDeeds]

MacDonald and Ramo: 

• Oct 3: Ramo earns the first start in camp.  He has a decent game against a power offense of Washington in his (basically) NHL debut.  He loses in a SO.
• Oct 4: MacDonald gets the start.  Second of a back to back so fair enough.  He does what he does.  Rarely bad.  Rarely good.  But he has a decent game and he gets the win.
• Oct 6: MacDonald gets another start.  The coach says that he got the win so he gets to start.  Again, fair enough.  He lets in 5 goals on 28 shots.  Despite that he isn't completely horrific.  The game gets to OT.  
• Oct 9: The first perplexing goalie decision.  MacDonald gets the start again.  Ramo has only one game to this point and MacDonald wasn't very good the game before.  Sitting Ramo for a week isn't making much sense.  Fortunately MacDonald puts in his only great game of the season and gets the first star and the win. 
• Oct 11: After the great game previously MacDonald gets the start.  Understandable this time.  MacDonald is okay.  He doesn't see much work but he keeps the goals against at 2 and gets the win. 
• Oct 16: After a five day break and on the back of two wins the Flames go with MacDonald.  Can't blame them too much.  But Ramo has sat for two weeks now and only has one game played.  Meanwhile the Flames are playing 33 year old career back-up as the starter.  MacDonald isn't great in this one.  He lets in 3 goals on 22 shots (all at EV) and the Flames lose one where they outplayed the opponent. 
• Oct 19: 16 days later Ramo gets his second start.  The Flames are absolutely stomped by the Sharks in what might be (to that point) the worst game of the season.  Ramo lets in 5 on 35 shots.  Though 3 are on the PP.  
• Oct 21: The Flames break the trend and give Ramo the start despite the prior mediocre game.  He rewards them with the win.  The Flames are out shot but Ramo is perfect EV and keeps the GA down to 2 on special teams.
• Oct 22: It is the second game in a back to back so MacDonald predictably gets the start.  The Flames aren't good tonight.  MacDonald is his usual okay but gets the loss.  
• Oct 24: Back to Ramo.  The Flames can't play Dallas this season.  This one is no exception.  The Flames and Ramo are both pretty dreadful in this one. 
• Oct 26: The Flames are showing some patience in Ramo.  Plus, it is pretty clear they are done with MacDonald.  Despite the bad start the game before he gets to go again.  Good thing they do as the Flames put together their best game of the season.  Ramo is really good as well.  Good win. 
• Oct 30: Ramo looks to be the starter now.  After a four day break and a win the game before he gets the predictable start.  Too bad.  The goalie on the other end (Bernier) was better then Ramo this night.  Despite out shooting the Leafs 43 to 21 the Flames lose 3-2.  
• Nov 1: MacDonald really struggled in this one.  The Flames played a decent game against Detroit.  But MacDonald let in 4 on 22 shots.  The Flames could only score 3 times.  

Berra and Ramo: 

• Nov 3: MacDonald gets demoted and Berra gets the call.  He is up against Chicago in his first game.  An odd decision since Ramo is rested.  But Hartley has been chomping at the bit since camp to get Berra in the net so in the net he goes.  It is a fortunate decision as Berra plays one of his only great games of the season and gets first star and the OT win. 
• Nov 5: You have to give Berra the start after his last game.  Unfortunately he isn't very good.  In what might be one of the worst performances by any Flame goalie this season he lets in 5 goals on 24 shots.  
• Nov 7: The decision to go with Berra again is a little odd.  Ramo hasn't played in over a week and Berra was dreadful the game before.  But the Flames are entering a back to back so the goalies have to split the starts.  So it isn't that odd.  Neither the Flames or Berra are very good.  The Flames post the loss. 
• Nov 8: The Flames look like they are on the second half of a back to back.  Ramo is mediocre and gets the 4-2 loss. 
• Nov 12: With Ramo only getting a start on the back to back so far in November many looked for him to get the start.  But Berra goes in.  Neither was great in the prior two games so it is an odd but defensible decision.  Berra has a pretty darn good game.  He gets the first star despite the OT loss.  
• Nov 14: Going with Berra is automatic after his last outing.  Unfortunately it is against Dallas.  And the Flames can't play Dallas.  Berra gets trounced and pulled half way through.  Ramo is a little better.  But not by much.  
• Nov 16: The coaching staff seems to like giving the goalies another shot after a bad start.  So Berra goes in.  The Flames dominate the first two periods.  But they fall apart in the third.  Berra's ability to let in soft goals is on display and he lets in 3 in the third period.  
• Nov 18: This is the first game where Hartley's bias to play Berra really shows.  To this point the only start Ramo has had in November was in the second of a back to back. Berra just had two pretty bad games.  There isn't any defense to playing Berra in this start.  Except that Berra plays pretty well.  Despite letting in four Berra brings the Flames to a SO that they have no business being in.  He then puts forward a great SO performance and gets the win. 
• Nov 20: Tough not to reward Berra with the start after the last game.  But Ramo has sat almost two weeks now and has one start in the month.  Meanwhile Berra hasn't been all that good. He isn't very good in what was one of the most boring hockey games of the year.  The Flames lose in OT.  
• Nov 22: In a bizarre decision Berra gets the start yet again.  The collective hockey world goes "huh".  The Flames win in spite of not very good goal tending.  Though Berra is once again good in the SO.  
• Nov 27: Somehow, someway, Berra gets the start again.  Sure he had the win the game before.  But he wasn't very good.  Ramo has had one start all month in the second of a back to back.  This is Berra's 10 start giving him more starts then any other Flames goalie.  And he joined the team just over 3 weeks ago.  Bizarre.  Berra isn't very good and records the loss.  But the Flames as a whole didn't play well.  
• Nov 29: Unbelievably Berra gets another start.  That leaves Ramo with two starts in November, both the second of a back to back.  Berra isn't good.  He gets pulled in the final 10 and Ramo comes in.   
• Nov 30: Ramo gets the second start of a back to back.  Thankfully he plays a really solid game.  This is the first time all season the Flames have let in less then 2 goals.  Ramo gets the first star and the win.  
• Dec 4: Tough not to give Ramo the start after the last game.  He backs up the prior performance with another 1 goal game.  This one despite seeing 30 shots on net.  

 

I didn't have a huge problem with the rotation in October.  I thought it was an odd decision to start MacDonald on Oct 9.  But when the decision pays off the coach gets a pass.  I think they played MacBackup way too much.  But the Flames were winning and all of the decisions on starts were defensible.  

 

November is another matter.  

 

Sending MacDonald down and calling up Berra made sense.  I didn't agree with the Nov 3 start against Chicago. But it paid off and they wanted to get Berra a game right away. So that was okay.  The Nov 7 decision to start Berra was a little odd as well.  But the coaching staff has consistently let their goalies get a game after a bad start.  More often then not they have been rewarded with a rebound game so I can't complain to much about that.  Nov 12 was another odd decision. But again, it paid off.  Plus, getting Berra some ice time is defensible.  And neither he or Ramo had been lights out recently.  Nov 16 was another of the rebound opportunities.  

 

Nov 18 though it all falls apart.  There isn't much defense to starting Berra.  It pays off though.  The start Nov 22 is even more bizarre.  But we win.  So the coaches are getting away with the odd decisions so far.  But the starts on Nov 27 and 29 aren't defensible.  Berra is getting the starts despite poor play and Ramo is rotting on the bench.   

 

Berra has had three good games.  His first game against Chicago.  His fourth game in an OT loss against San Jose.  His seventh game in a SO winner against Winnipeg.  His other 8 games have varied from Meh to Horrible.  That includes his last four games.  Which is why is was so perplexing that Hartley kept playing him while Ramo sat on the bench.  

 

I am not sold that Ramo will be an NHL starter. I am not even sold that he will be better then Berra.  He wasn't particularly good in October.  But he hasn't deserved the treatment he has received from the coach over the last half of November.  

 

Hopefully the last two weeks have removed the bias Hartley and the Flames have towards Berra.  From this point forward they should play the hot hand with no preference given to either goalie.  

Trouble is we fans don't get to see these guys every day in practice. We don't see their contributions in the dressing room either. So when you say you don't understand some decision of the coach understand that is a big part of the reason why they make these decisions.

 

The other thing is the other coaches. Hartley has said many times he relies on the coaching staff for these "who is starting decisions". It is unfair to blame Hartley for decisions that you feel are strange and especially when you say afterward those decisions turned out.... Doesn't that more than likely  just mean they made the right decision and your expectations were wrong? After all we as fans don't have the data from dressing room and practices to go with our decisions like they do.

 

That doesn't even touch on the subject that they are the professionals and we fans aren't. Can you blame them for ignoring and scoffing all the millions of armchair coaches and GM fans who think they are the next coming of Scotty Bowman? 

[Carty]

I'm more concerned about the goaltender coaching than the goalies themselves.

 

I expressed that same concern earlier in the season...   Malarchuk played a total of 338 games in the NHL and his record was not what I would call stellar...

 

He also spent only one season as goaltending coach with the Panthers, Blue Jackets and Thrashers, and that says something as well...

[travel_dude]

I expressed that same concern earlier in the season...   Malarchuk played a total of 338 games in the NHL and his record was not what I would call stellar...

 

He also spent only one season as goaltending coach with the Panthers, Blue Jackets and Thrashers, and that says something as well...

So, was he brought in before Kipper's nightmare season? Can't remember. Would Kipper have even bothered listening to him? I would like to see him replaced, since we haven't had much success in replacing Kipper yet. Even if he is useless, he won't get fired during the year, though.

[Carty]

So, was he brought in before Kipper's nightmare season? Can't remember. Would Kipper have even bothered listening to him? I would like to see him replaced, since we haven't had much success in replacing Kipper yet. Even if he is useless, he won't get fired during the year, though.

 

Malarchuk was hired by the Flames on June 17, 2011...

[kehatch]

Trouble is we fans don't get to see these guys every day in practice. We don't see their contributions in the dressing room either. So when you say you don't understand some decision of the coach understand that is a big part of the reason why they make these decisions.

 

The other thing is the other coaches. Hartley has said many times he relies on the coaching staff for these "who is starting decisions". It is unfair to blame Hartley for decisions that you feel are strange and especially when you say afterward those decisions turned out.... Doesn't that more than likely  just mean they made the right decision and your expectations were wrong? After all we as fans don't have the data from dressing room and practices to go with our decisions like they do.

 

That doesn't even touch on the subject that they are the professionals and we fans aren't. Can you blame them for ignoring and scoffing all the millions of armchair coaches and GM fans who think they are the next coming of Scotty Bowman? 

 

Fans clearly don't have access to all of the information.  We also aren't hockey professionals.  But you can say that about any hockey discussion.  Yet we are all here.  

 

Plus, this isn't some sort of mystery.  We aren't talking about advanced mathematics here.  More often than not there isn't some sort of inside information smoking gun supported by special training.  Most of the time the coaches decision not do what was obvious ends up being the wrong decision. The coaches are fallible.  

 

Having goalie A play almost every start when he isn't playing well while goalie B gets cold on the bench is clearly not the right decision IMO.  Not when they are both young and unproven at the NHL level.  It doesn't take insider knowledge to see that Hartely preferred Berra from the start and was giving him more opportunity than the other goalies were getting.  

 

Doesn't matter now.  Ramo is getting the starts.  I just hope Ramo doesn't find himself on a really short leash and Berra gets to start every game the first time Ramo falters.  

[travel_dude]

Fans clearly don't have access to all of the information.  We also aren't hockey professionals.  But you can say that about any hockey discussion.  Yet we are all here.  

 

Plus, this isn't some sort of mystery.  We aren't talking about advanced mathematics here.  More often than not there isn't some sort of inside information smoking gun supported by special training.  Most of the time the coaches decision not do what was obvious ends up being the wrong decision. The coaches are fallible.  

 

Having goalie A play almost every start when he isn't playing well while goalie B gets cold on the bench is clearly not the right decision IMO.  Not when they are both young and unproven at the NHL level.  It doesn't take insider knowledge to see that Hartely preferred Berra from the start and was giving him more opportunity than the other goalies were getting.  

 

Doesn't matter now.  Ramo is getting the starts.  I just hope Ramo doesn't find himself on a really short leash and Berra gets to start every game the first time Ramo falters.

Hartley is not dumb. He knows how it looks to play Berra after some of those losses. He recently said he wants to play Ramo for a string of games much like he did with Berra. LOL. He also was quoted recently saying JoeyMac is still in the running for the started goalie. What that says to me is that he is playing Ramo until he blunders enough to send him down for JoeyMac, our savior.

[stubblejumper1]

The Flames are low on talent, but they put in an honest effort every night.  It is supremely frustrating to see the goalies give up a soft goal nearly every game.  Having 2 potential NHL calibre goalies battle it out for an entire season seems like unnecessary punishment for the players and the fans.  It is like throwing in the towel.

[travel_dude]

The Flames are low on talent, but they put in an honest effort every night.  It is supremely frustrating to see the goalies give up a soft goal nearly every game.  Having 2 potential NHL calibre goalies battle it out for an entire season seems like unnecessary punishment for the players and the fans.  It is like throwing in the towel.

There are a few teams that have a 1/1a goalie tandem; that is not a major problem. What is a problem is running goalies without using a logical approach. Play a guy 8 games, no matter how bad he plays. Play the next guy for 8 games. The only battle is in Hartley's mind. I think he uses an 8-ball to make decisions.

[jjgallow]

There are a few teams that have a 1/1a goalie tandem; that is not a major problem. What is a problem is ...

 

you are suggesting that Ramo/Berra are 1/1a?

[jjgallow]

The Flames are low on talent, but they put in an honest effort every night.  It is supremely frustrating to see the goalies give up a soft goal nearly every game.  Having 2 potential NHL calibre goalies battle it out for an entire season seems like unnecessary punishment for the players and the fans.  It is like throwing in the towel.

 

I'm not sure that they are NHL calibre.   But if that's what you're looking for, you'll be glad to know that Ortio had another strong performance and a win last night:

http://theahl.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=1011424

 

That puts him statistically above Joey Mac in the AHL (and he out-played Berra a long time ago).

 

Far more importantly, it puts him Ahead of Jon Gibson in the race for the AHL's Rookie Goaltender of the Year.

http://theahl.com/stats/statdisplay.php?type=top_goalies&season_id=43&tournament_id=0&division_id=-1

 

Ortio is currently the best rookie goaltender in all of the AHL, pulling ahead of even Jon Gibson.  And nobody other than those two is even any where close.

 

Jon Gillies continues to be on fire.

 

Patience, great things are coming in net.   Now, if you get frustrated with our defense....I cannot respond the same way unfortunately.

[Lucid_Flame91]

I'm not sure that they are NHL calibre.   But if that's what you're looking for, you'll be glad to know that Ortio had another strong performance and a win last night:

http://theahl.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=1011424

 

That puts him statistically above Joey Mac in the AHL (and he out-played Berra a long time ago).

 

Far more importantly, it puts him Ahead of Jon Gibson in the race for the AHL's Rookie Goaltender of the Year.

http://theahl.com/stats/statdisplay.php?type=top_goalies&season_id=43&tournament_id=0&division_id=-1

 

Ortio is currently the best rookie goaltender in all of the AHL, pulling ahead of even Jon Gibson.  And nobody other than those two is even any where close.

 

Jon Gillies continues to be on fire.

 

Patience, great things are coming in net.   Now, if you get frustrated with our defense....I cannot respond the same way unfortunately.

 

I assume he's going to end up beating Gibson of the trophy (barring any injuries ect), Are the awards determined with the play offs in mind, or it for the overall regular season?

 

As of right now the admirals are fighting for the last spot for playoffs.

 

The Heat have been ontop of the AHL standings for the past few weeks, Ortio's going to have a big chance to show his stuff off in the play offs, Hopefully Jmac is moved by than so he can get majority starts.

[jjgallow]

I assume he's going to end up beating Gibson of the trophy (barring any injuries ect), Are the awards determined with the play offs in mind, or it for the overall regular season?

 

As of right now the admirals are fighting for the last spot for playoffs.

 

The Heat have been ontop of the AHL standings for the past few weeks, Ortio's going to have a big chance to show his stuff off in the play offs, Hopefully Jmac is moved by than so he can get majority starts.

 

Totally agree.  I don't care if it's Berra, Ramo, or JMac....but one of the three has to go packing.  Soon.

 

The Flames would have to be crazy to not realize that they have the AHL's rookie of the year, and possibly the 2nd best prospect overall in the AHL.  With how hard it is to project goalies, he could very easily end up being better than Gibson too.

 

With that in mind, It just blows me away that Ortio has been given Less than Half the number of playing games as other goalies over his calibre, and even significantly less.   It is sad to see the development wasted for no good reason.  Hopefully something gives soon.

 

There is no official trophy for Rookie Goaltender of the year, unfortunately.   Other than a very quick ascent to the NHL.

 

That's not to say there isn't a Rookie of the Year award.  If the Heat would just realize that he's basically their winning percentage and play him a fair number of games (which I still believe they will), I think he could be at very least a candidate for that trophy.

 

More importantly, as you've mentioned, is the opportunity to Lead the Heat through the playoffs.  

 

By the time the playoffs come, I don't think it will matter how many goalies the Flames have.  They don't have a single goalie in their system that wouldn't clear waivers.   Even if JMac isn't there, they'll probably send Berra  back down (maybe even Ramo) to back up Ortio.    And by that time, I suspect he'll be better than all three anyway (if he isn't already).

 

In order for him to become better, Ortio needs playing time.  Now.  Somebody's got to go imho.  I hope they play Ortio back to back tonight.

[travel_dude]

Looking at Brossoit's number in OKC; doesn't exactly seem to be tearing it up.

Season notes: Acquired in trade from the Calgary Flames’ organization with Roman Horak for Ladislav Smid and Olivier Roy Nov. 8, 2013...Has played for both Abbotsford (AHL) and Alaska (ECHL) this season...Appeared in 3 games for Alaska, going 2-0-0 with a pair of shutouts...ECHL Goalie of the Week for Oct. 28-Nov. 2, when he earned consecutive shutouts against Bakersfield...Faced OKC in relief (no decision) in his pro debut Oct. 18, stopping all 9 shots he faced in 34:23... Took the loss Oct. 20 at Texas, allowing 9 goals on 42 shots, including 5 power play goals, in first AHL start.

GP GA MINS SAVES GAA SA% WINS LOSS

2013-14 Regular Season Oklahoma City Barons 6 17 298 135 3.42 0.888 2 3

[funnymunk]

Looking at Brossoit's number in OKC; doesn't exactly seem to be tearing it up.

Season notes: Acquired in trade from the Calgary Flames’ organization with Roman Horak for Ladislav Smid and Olivier Roy Nov. 8, 2013...Has played for both Abbotsford (AHL) and Alaska (ECHL) this season...Appeared in 3 games for Alaska, going 2-0-0 with a pair of shutouts...ECHL Goalie of the Week for Oct. 28-Nov. 2, when he earned consecutive shutouts against Bakersfield...Faced OKC in relief (no decision) in his pro debut Oct. 18, stopping all 9 shots he faced in 34:23... Took the loss Oct. 20 at Texas, allowing 9 goals on 42 shots, including 5 power play goals, in first AHL start.

GP GA MINS SAVES GAA SA% WINS LOSS

2013-14 Regular Season Oklahoma City Barons 6 17 298 135 3.42 0.888 2 3

 

 

That's only because of that really bad game he had with ABB in the beginning, he's actually been doing well so far. 

[phoenix66]

That's only because of that really bad game he had with ABB in the beginning, he's actually been doing well so far. 

With OKC in 6 games, he's 2-3, with a .888 sv%, 3.42 GAA, not exactly lighting it up for minor league stats., but hes still making the pro adjustment, so not expecting stellar yet either.

[jjgallow]

For his age, I would call that stellar.   Trying not to dwell on it, what's done is done.   Let's just hope Edmonton screws up his development, lol

[travel_dude]

That's only because of that really bad game he had with ABB in the beginning, he's actually been doing well so far.

No, those don't include any of his games as part of the Heat. They are only OKC numbers. Check it out.

Most games he let 4 or 5 in, except for his wins.

For his age, I would call that stellar.   Trying not to dwell on it, what's done is done.   Let's just hope Edmonton screws up his development, lol

I would say they have already screwed it up by playing him. He clearly is not ready yet.

[Lucid_Flame91]

In order for him to become better, Ortio needs playing time.  Now.  Somebody's got to go imho.  I hope they play Ortio back to back tonight.

 

Well you and me are getting our wish and hes playing again tonight looking like yet another win, 5-2  

[jjgallow]

Well you and me are getting our wish and hes playing again tonight looking like yet another win, 5-2  

 

You beat me to it

 

Pretty great....looks like he had a strong game.

 

7th overall in the AHL now....Glad to see they're giving him more well-earned responsibility and time to develop!

[Lucid_Flame91]

You beat me to it

 

Pretty great....looks like he had a strong game.

 

7th overall in the AHL now....Glad to see they're giving him more well-earned responsibility and time to develop!

 

Joni Ortio was solid for the Heat as he picked up his 11th win of the season and was named the first star. Max Reinhart (1-1-2), Brett Olson (0-2-2), and Mark Cundari (1-1-2) led the way offensively with multi-point games, while Markus Granlund extended his point streak to nine games with a late goal.

 

Abbotsford was two for three on the power play, and killed off five of six San Antonio power plays.

 

This week the Heat will host the Iowa Wild (AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild) on Wednesday, December 11th and Thursday, December 12th.

[phoenix66]

At the flames level, that's 4 top nhl quality starts in a row by Berra and Ramo..aside from about 1 min against Colorado. So what have we learned? Lets keep the strings to 4 games max now, and you'll see more consistent development. Once you start getting 4 solid ones you can 7ncrese it and see who can handle the load.

Im sure having gio back hasnt hurt either.

[kehatch]

At the flames level, that's 4 top nhl quality starts in a row by Berra and Ramo..aside from about 1 min against Colorado. So what have we learned? Lets keep the strings to 4 games max now, and you'll see more consistent development. Once you start getting 4 solid ones you can 7ncrese it and see who can handle the load.

Im sure having gio back hasnt hurt either.

 

Schedule each goalie for two starts.  If the goalie earns it throw a third.  Otherwise rotate.  No more crazy rotations like we saw in November.  Not unless a goalie is lights out.  That isn't good for either goalie.  

 

That is obvious advise straight out of the coaches for dummies guidebook.  Unfortunately Hartley and company have been trying to make 1 and 1 equal 3.