Goaltending

[travel_dude]

13 hours ago, MAC331 said:

LOL you expecting Smith to change his ways, don't count on it. All goalies need to be able to handle the puck competently and Rittich needs to get better not be afraid to do it at all

 

I expect him to be a team player.  Communication between the goalie and D-men is key to that.  His competetiveness is what makes him a winner, not trying to singlehandedly control the zone exits.  Do I expect him to ignore what the coach says to him?  No.  Will he adapt his game to a new coach and new D-men?  Well, he pretty much has to.  

[cross16]

I share the opinion that Smith should handle the puck less, not more. IMO, his puck handling hurts the Flames more than it helps it specifically when it comes to clean breakouts. Flames pay a lot of money for this defense, so having a goalie that seems to insist on starting the breakout did not make a lot of sense to me last year and I hope it changes this year. 

[CheersMan]

This misconception of Smith's puck handling skills is hurting the team is getting way over blown, similar to the stretch pass a few years ago.  His ability to be first on the puck and choose to either;

-dump off to an open dman in the corner

-leave puck behind net for his dman 

-or, send it up ice onto the tape of an open forward is a huge asset for this team. 

I can't think of one time last season where the puck ended up in the back of our net due to Smith getting too fancy with the puck.  There were some close calls but none fatal.  Enjoy his talents rather than invent flaws I say.

[The_People1]

Goalies handling the puck are like QBs who can run the ball.   Great extra skillset to have for a QB but we know the best QBs are still the pocket passers.

 

 

[cross16]

17 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

Goalies handling the puck are like QBs who can run the ball.   Great extra skillset to have for a QB but we know the best QBs are still the pocket passers.

 

 

 

Good analogy and just to build off of it, you have to scheme properly in order to maximize a running QB's talents and even then there are only so few that can make it work. Perhaps this coaching staff can better scheme/design a system that can utilize Smith's puck handling ability because I think the Flames last year really struggled with it. 

[MAC331]

1 hour ago, cross16 said:

 

Good analogy and just to build off of it, you have to scheme properly in order to maximize a running QB's talents and even then there are only so few that can make it work. Perhaps this coaching staff can better scheme/design a system that can utilize Smith's puck handling ability because I think the Flames last year really struggled with it. 

Positioning of the defense and forwards has to be recognized by the goalies in determining a pass from him can have most everyone turn up onto the offensive. Trying to spring somebody or catch the opposition by surprise can be where everything goes for not. I think if BP wants the D handling the transition game then Smith has to respect that.

[travel_dude]

8 hours ago, CheersMan said:

This misconception of Smith's puck handling skills is hurting the team is getting way over blown, similar to the stretch pass a few years ago.  His ability to be first on the puck and choose to either;

-dump off to an open dman in the corner

-leave puck behind net for his dman 

-or, send it up ice onto the tape of an open forward is a huge asset for this team. 

I can't think of one time last season where the puck ended up in the back of our net due to Smith getting too fancy with the puck.  There were some close calls but none fatal.  Enjoy his talents rather than invent flaws I say.

 

Every close call is an opportunity to transition to offence lost.  It may not result in a goal against right away, but it may end up in an icing or extra zone time that hurts the team later.  Did you enjoy watch him ring it high off the glass to nobody?  Have possession for about 3 seconds, then give it up again.  But you don;t see a problem, so no point in arguing it.  

 

[CheersMan]

1 hour ago, travel_dude said:

 

Every close call is an opportunity to transition to offence lost.  It may not result in a goal against right away, but it may end up in an icing or extra zone time that hurts the team later.  Did you enjoy watch him ring it high off the glass to nobody?  Have possession for about 3 seconds, then give it up again.  But you don;t see a problem, so no point in arguing it.  

 

Correct, I don't see a problem in Mike Smith's game. He would be the last guy, or maybe second last guy I'd be poking a stick at on this team based on his performance. He gave us a chance last season pre injury and please spare me his injury history. When you play and handle the puck as much as Smith does your bound to have a close call from time to time, point was none cost us. If you want to argue his longevity, fine, but don't make Satoshi Nakamoto up about giving the puck away routinely.         

[travel_dude]

12 hours ago, CheersMan said:

Correct, I don't see a problem in Mike Smith's game. He would be the last guy, or maybe second last guy I'd be poking a stick at on this team based on his performance. He gave us a chance last season pre injury and please spare me his injury history. When you play and handle the puck as much as Smith does your bound to have a close call from time to time, point was none cost us. If you want to argue his longevity, fine, but don't make Satoshi Nakamoto up about giving the puck away routinely.         

 

Well then don;t make up stuff about his handling the puck making him the MVP of the team in the first half.  He was for the simple reason that he was playing elite.

You want the stop the puck when it's fired along the boards?  Fine.  Do it and leave it to the guys that can start the transition.   

[MAC331]

4 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

Well then don;t make up stuff about his handling the puck making him the MVP of the team in the first half.  He was for the simple reason that he was playing elite.

You want the stop the puck when it's fired along the boards?  Fine.  Do it and leave it to the guys that can start the transition.   

Nothing wrong with your Goalie (Smith or anyone else) starting the transition going the other way. I don't like when Smith tries to be the long pass hero to a forward up at C and the rest of the team heads up in total catch up mode. They need to play smarter hockey.

[kehatch]

It's his first game of the preseason and it was behind an AHL roster, but that was not a strong start by Rittich. 

 

 

[Thebrewcrew]

Agredd on Rittich tonight. Anyway IMO the door is wide open for Glass, if he plays well in his first game that makes things very interesting.

[rickross]

33 minutes ago, kehatch said:

It's his first game of the preseason and it was behind an AHL roster, but that was not a strong start by Rittich. 

 

 

She ain't lyin! After seeing a true backup on display in Halak against a full Flames NHL lineup..we are looking extremely weak after Smith right now. It's preseason blah blah indeed but I'll take the sharp goalie tandem over the leaky one that is ours everyday!

[cccsberg]

2 hours ago, rickross said:

She ain't lyin! After seeing a true backup on display in Halak against a full Flames NHL lineup..we are looking extremely weak after Smith right now. It's preseason blah blah indeed but I'll take the sharp goalie tandem over the leaky one that is ours everyday!

No one is saying Gillies is miles ahead of Rittich yet?  C'mon you guys, what's up?

[robrob74]

22 minutes ago, cccsberg said:

No one is saying Gillies is miles ahead of Rittich yet?  C'mon you guys, what's up?

 

I think it is just the state of our goaltending right now. 

 

It seems to be the MO of both to let in the early ones until they get warmed up and dialed in. Not good because they’ll be playing from behind a lot.

[Horsman1]

First of all, thank you Flames for live streaming the pre-season.. secondly.. I'm still afraid of what we have for backups.. Rittich looked extremely slow in reaction time last night and other games I've seen him play.. Maybe the fundamentals are there.. That;s what teaching is for.. but.. Personal skills is what makes a professional athlete .. He doesn't seem to have elite skill

 

[cccsberg]

2 hours ago, Horsman1 said:

First of all, thank you Flames for live streaming the pre-season.. secondly.. I'm still afraid of what we have for backups.. Rittich looked extremely slow in reaction time last night and other games I've seen him play.. Maybe the fundamentals are there.. That;s what teaching is for.. but.. Personal skills is what makes a professional athlete .. He doesn't seem to have elite skill

 

Notwithstanding that NO GOALIE is going to do well stopping well executed 2 on 1s and breakaways, Rittich looked pretty leaky last night and although Gillies was much better against a much better roster, he wasn't heavily tested.  Round 1 of the goalie backup wars to Gillies in a decision.  He's ahead but leaving the door open and people searching for alternatives.

 

So, next question: are the defensive breakdowns symptomatic or juggled roster/early pre-season rust?  

[MAC331]

20 minutes ago, cccsberg said:

Notwithstanding that NO GOALIE is going to do well stopping well executed 2 on 1s and breakaways, Rittich looked pretty leaky last night and although Gillies was much better against a much better roster, he wasn't heavily tested.  Round 1 of the goalie backup wars to Gillies in a decision.  He's ahead but leaving the door open and people searching for alternatives.

 

So, next question: are the defensive breakdowns symptomatic or juggled roster/early pre-season rust?  

Man there are a lot of you forming critical opinions after one or two x-games. Lighten up

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, cccsberg said:

Notwithstanding that NO GOALIE is going to do well stopping well executed 2 on 1s and breakaways, Rittich looked pretty leaky last night and although Gillies was much better against a much better roster, he wasn't heavily tested.  Round 1 of the goalie backup wars to Gillies in a decision.  He's ahead but leaving the door open and people searching for alternatives.

 

So, next question: are the defensive breakdowns symptomatic or juggled roster/early pre-season rust?  

 

It's a bit early to say that Rittich isn't ready for the backup role as much as it is to say that Gillies didn't do as bad.  What it does do is re-enforce the notion that we don't know what we have in NHL depth. I'm not too concerned about one bad game or Parsons looking good against rookies.  Doesn't prove anything.

 

What does concern me is that we have this question mark in nets.  We all believe that Rittich will be the NHL backup and Gillies and Parsons will split starts in Stockton.  That can only happen if Rittich looks ready.

 

Plenty of pre-season games ahead of us, but we can't go with a 3 or 4 headed monster and giving each goalie a few pe-season starts.  If Rittich is rusty, then he needs to split games with Smith.  The team in front has to build confidence in him and he has to give them confidence.  We have a new coach and some new systems, so we need the practice and game situations to get ready as a team.

 

I really don't care about MacDonald or Schneider at this point.  They have to do something in KC to push their way into conversation.  Because of that, I don't want to see them play any pre-season games.  I would prefer to see Glass get a start, since he is closer to being a NHL goalie.

[MAC331]

1 hour ago, travel_dude said:

 

It's a bit early to say that Rittich isn't ready for the backup role as much as it is to say that Gillies didn't do as bad.  What it does do is re-enforce the notion that we don't know what we have in NHL depth. I'm not too concerned about one bad game or Parsons looking good against rookies.  Doesn't prove anything.

 

What does concern me is that we have this question mark in nets.  We all believe that Rittich will be the NHL backup and Gillies and Parsons will split starts in Stockton.  That can only happen if Rittich looks ready.

 

Plenty of pre-season games ahead of us, but we can't go with a 3 or 4 headed monster and giving each goalie a few pe-season starts.  If Rittich is rusty, then he needs to split games with Smith.  The team in front has to build confidence in him and he has to give them confidence.  We have a new coach and some new systems, so we need the practice and game situations to get ready as a team.

 

I really don't care about MacDonald or Schneider at this point.  They have to do something in KC to push their way into conversation.  Because of that, I don't want to see them play any pre-season games.  I would prefer to see Glass get a start, since he is closer to being a NHL goalie.

First pre-season's game and people are flipping out already from small samples. The only problem I see on this forum all the time are opinions based on small samples or yesterday's game.

I no longer think our tandem should be Smith and Rittich. I think we get more answers heading into next season by knowing if Gilles can or cannot handle the NHL load. I think we all agree Rittich is back up material so let him get his playing time in Stockton.

[MAC331]

12 hours ago, rickross said:

She ain't lyin! After seeing a true backup on display in Halak against a full Flames NHL lineup..we are looking extremely weak after Smith right now. It's preseason blah blah indeed but I'll take the sharp goalie tandem over the leaky one that is ours everyday!

Yeah well Halak has the experience over a number of back up goalies in the NHL.

[The_Tribal Chief]

doesnt matter this is the nhl not some peewee league you either be ready they have practiced there is no excuse for rittiche's sucky performance none what so ever

[The_People1]

It's preseason guys.  Let's stay calm.

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, MAC331 said:

First pre-season's game and people are flipping out already from small samples. The only problem I see on this forum all the time are opinions based on small samples or yesterday's game.

I no longer think our tandem should be Smith and Rittich. I think we get more answers heading into next season by knowing if Gilles can or cannot handle the NHL load. I think we all agree Rittich is back up material so let him get his playing time in Stockton.

 

That's not really a fair assessment of people's views on this forum.  Some do a lot of research into the subject.  Some look at different stats, comparables, previous season work, etc.  Some just react to what others post if they don't agree.

I'm not saying anything different now than I was in July, in that we have suspect depth in nets.  Once we have a complete team in camp, perhaps we will have a better idea of where Rittich and Gillies are this year.

[JTech780]

My biggest issue with the 2 pre season games so far is that you have 2 goalies fighting for a back up job (Gillies and Rittich) and both kind of crapped the bed in their first outings. Now it doesn't mean that they won't be better going forward, but when you are fighting for a job, I want you to go out take it from the other guy. Based on these games neither guy is taking the job.

 

Now even going into this season neither goalie has come out and declared that they are an NHL goalie and that was a bit of a concern. At the same time you have to give both guys a shot to earn the job.

 

Though I might be calling Kari Lehtonen's agent and seeing if we would come into camp on a PTO. He isn't a starter but he can provide capable NHL goaltending in a pinch. If Smith goes down with injury, the team's playoff hopes could go with him at this point.