Goaltending

[conundrumed]

Rittich is 1-0.

It wasn't pure, excruciating, "we don't have goalies" hell imploding.

For those waiting for it.

[CheersMan]

2 minutes ago, conundrumed said:

Rittich is 1-0.

It wasn't pure, excruciating, "we don't have goalies" hell imploding.

For those waiting for it.

It’s a no brainer, next game goes to.....Gillies.  ?

[Cowtownguy]

3 minutes ago, CheersMan said:

It’s a no brainer, next game goes to.....Gillies.  ?

Getting scored on in the first few seconds is almost as irritating as being scored on in the last 30 seconds. That drives me nuts. 

[CheersMan]

1 minute ago, Cowtownguy said:

Getting scored on in the first few seconds is almost as irritating as being scored on in the last 30 seconds. That drives me nuts. 

Hey, the first couple of minutes was slightly discouraging.  Had to prevent that third goal to get the win. 

[travel_dude]

17 minutes ago, conundrumed said:

Rittich is 1-0.

It wasn't pure, excruciating, "we don't have goalies" hell imploding.

For those waiting for it.

 

It also wasn't an arms flapping, glare at Brodie, blame game.

No PeeWee's Big Adventure behind the net.

Shut the door after 2/3 shots went in.

[JTech780]

I think Rittich deserves the next game. Smith hasn't been good, and Rittich shut the door and limited the damage to 2 goals. 

[Cowtownguy]

28 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

It also wasn't an arms flapping, glare at Brodie, blame game.

No PeeWee's Big Adventure behind the net.

Shut the door after 2/3 shots went in.

 Peters needs to reign in Smith handling the puck. It is great a lot of the time. I am sure that the defence love it when they don't have to go to the corners and get pummelled. At times though, it seems to throw off the break outs. Players don't have time to get into formation and the puck gets turned over, or it leads to a dead end in the offensive zone. 

[7wit]

3 hours ago, JTech780 said:

I think Rittich deserves the next game. Smith hasn't been good, and Rittich shut the door and limited the damage to 2 goals. 

 

4 hours ago, conundrumed said:

Rittich is 1-0.

It wasn't pure, excruciating, "we don't have goalies" hell imploding.

For those waiting for it.

 

? Way to go Rittich for restoring some faith between the pipes.

[kehatch]

Rittich looked solid last night. The first two goals weren't on him, and he shut the door after that. He wasn't called on to be spectacular, but he was solid. 

 

I don't know if I would give him the next game though. We need to have Smith playing solid hockey. That's a long stretch without a game for Smith. 

 

Like it or not Rittich is our backup and Smith the starter. It will take more then one solid game to change that. If missing the next game is the best way to get Smith going then do it, but I doubt that is the case. 

[cross16]

I agree you go back to Smith. However if he isn't good again I think you re think the plan and start to split starts. 

[YounGuns]

Gotta go back to Smith.  He's our guy.  We need Rittich to be a capable back-up, and he did everything he needed to in that role last night; he gave us the chance to win.  Had Rittich lost though, gosh there'd be 3 more pages on here about how Treliving failed to address our goalie situation.  Funny how it's mainly crickets when Rittich plays well and gives us a chance to win....you know, like he did last year while in the back-up role...

 

One thing I find funny is how people hate how fiery Smith is.  I personally love it.  It's not a sign that he's losing his composure, as some on here seem to think, rather that's just who he is.  He's a fiery, passionate guy.  It's his personality, not a reflection of his skills as a goalie.  We need MORE of that on this team, not less.  We're, for the most part, too "nice".  I love the fact that Smith gets frustrated and shows it.  He's not afraid to call out his defensemen or throw a blocker into the face of an opposing player who is taking liberties on him.  It doesn't affect his play....this is how he's always been...it's just who he is.  Asking Smith to reign that in would be like asking Rittich to at least look like he gives a damn.  Rittich is like Kipper....always cool and collected, no matter what's going on.  Smith is like Patrick Roy....a hot head ready to blow a gasket.  Guess what fellas, it's just a personality thing and has zero impact on how well they can play their trade.  In fact, getting fired up and angry probably makes Smith play better.  Being cool and relaxed probably helps Rittich play better.  There's no one "personality" that makes a goaltender great.  So I for one think its comical when people point to Smith being "fired up" and try and sell that as a sign that he's unravelling and not ready to play.  No, no it's not.

[MAC331]

2 hours ago, kehatch said:

Rittich looked solid last night. The first two goals weren't on him, and he shut the door after that. He wasn't called on to be spectacular, but he was solid. 

 

I don't know if I would give him the next game though. We need to have Smith playing solid hockey. That's a long stretch without a game for Smith. 

 

Like it or not Rittich is our backup and Smith the starter. It will take more then one solid game to change that. If missing the next game is the best way to get Smith going then do it, but I doubt that is the case. 

I agree and would rather see a rhythm of game placements that gets Rittich into constant games on a regular basis.

[Cowtownguy]

I would like to see Smith play 60 games or so. That means Rittich needs to play one out of every four games. 

 

10 minutes ago, MAC331 said:

I agree and would rather see a rhythm of game placements that gets Rittich into constant games on a regular basis.

Yeah, a general rhythm is a good idea, or structured discretion whatever. I am not into the strict adherence to earning playing time per se. Smith will then play too frequently early on and be bagged by February. If Smith gets a shutout, Peters should tell him that he has earned a day off the next game. His record after a shut out looks terrible.

[travel_dude]

3 hours ago, kehatch said:

Rittich looked solid last night. The first two goals weren't on him, and he shut the door after that. He wasn't called on to be spectacular, but he was solid. 

 

I don't know if I would give him the next game though. We need to have Smith playing solid hockey. That's a long stretch without a game for Smith. 

 

Like it or not Rittich is our backup and Smith the starter. It will take more then one solid game to change that. If missing the next game is the best way to get Smith going then do it, but I doubt that is the case. 

 

To be sure, we need a solid tandem.  I believe that Rittich needs to start in 1/3 of the games right now.  How you split them up is anyone's guess.

[Heartbreaker]

 

Love. 

[robrob74]

5 minutes ago, Heartbreaker said:

 

Love. 

 

Irony,

 

both players are not Canadians hahaha

[travel_dude]

That view of the goal is a gem.

Everyone was talking about it.

Media asked the coach about it.

I think he was just excited to see a JH breakaway.

Was trying to will the victory that he played a big part in.

[rickross]

Rittich played well, still hard to say what this team has in its goalie prospects. It'll be interesting to see how BT approaches the goalie situation throughout the year. I know some on here are eyeing some vets like Bobrovsky in the off season, we all know it's only a matter of time until Smith gets hurt. Perhaps this is the year we make a move to acquire a franchise goalie

[Thebrewcrew]

I know it's super early but I am fascinated about what our team does in net next season. Smith at times this season, albeit very early has given me the vibe I got in Hiller's 2nd season here which is this may be his last season in the league. I'm not writing Smith off yet at all, I have no doubt he will pick it up and be no worse than a league average starter. Even then I think we would be better served to part ways at seasons end. An extension for Smith is risky IMO, look at OTT they re-signed Anderson after the ECF appearance and now it's ann ugly contract. Question is who do we go after?

 

Bobrovsky will want anywhere between 9 and 11 mill. NYI has already been rumoured as his landing spot for a while, the Russians do love NYC.

 

I think there's actually a chance we faced next years starter last night in Varlamov. Injuries like with Smith are a concern with Varlamov, but as we saw last night he is really good when healthy. COL brought in Grubauer this summer likely to take over the starting role for Varly who's a UFA at seasons end. What I like best about Varlamov as a target for next season is he will only be 31, you could still have a handful of solid seasons out of him. The cost likely 6mill and the term depending on the marketplace would likely be 2-4 years. I would prefer 2 as it gives you a starter but it doesn't block the road for the prospect goalies as Varly is only on a 2 year commitment. If we signed a Bob for 7 years we may as well trade Parsons as there is no chance he will start here

[conundrumed]

10 hours ago, kehatch said:

Rittich looked solid last night. The first two goals weren't on him, and he shut the door after that. He wasn't called on to be spectacular, but he was solid. 

 

I don't know if I would give him the next game though. We need to have Smith playing solid hockey. That's a long stretch without a game for Smith. 

 

Like it or not Rittich is our backup and Smith the starter. It will take more then one solid game to change that. If missing the next game is the best way to get Smith going then do it, but I doubt that is the case. 

As is typical with my Rittich posts, I'll rave about him.

Consistency is his issue. Some have mentioned his athleticism but I strongly disagree.

My thinking is BT signed him because some goalie guys said, "holy Blockchain" to him.

His mechanics, positioning/fundamentals are amazing when he's on. Always square, angles correct, absorbs pucks.

I'm a fan of scheduling your goalies month to month on a 2-1 ratio. I don't believe the "hot hand" holds water at this level.

 

Last thing I wanna hear is, "we'll see how Smitty feels".

Don't care how he feels. He isn't the coach.

He's paid 4x more than the coach. To listen, not dictate.

[rickross]

11 minutes ago, conundrumed said:

As is typical with my Rittich posts, I'll rave about him.

Consistency is his issue. Some have mentioned his athleticism but I strongly disagree.

My thinking is BT signed him because some goalie guys said, "holy Blockchain" to him.

His mechanics, positioning/fundamentals are amazing when he's on. Always square, angles correct, absorbs pucks.

I'm a fan of scheduling your goalies month to month on a 2-1 ratio. I don't believe the "hot hand" holds water at this level.

 

Last thing I wanna hear is, "we'll see how Smitty feels".

Don't care how he feels. He isn't the coach.

He's paid 4x more than the coach. To listen, not dictate.

I think the challenge with Smith is he's a notoriously streaking goalie, he's either amongst the top goalies or below the average on when he's on a streak. The challenge is he needs to play games to maintain a high level of play..but the more you play him the greater the risk of injury. That's hard on a backup to get into any consistent groove of their own unless Smith is injured

 

[conundrumed]

Just now, rickross said:

I think the challenge with Smith is he's a notoriously streaking goalie, he's either amongst the top goalies or below the average on when he's on a streak. The challenge is he needs to play games to maintain a high level of play..but the more you play him the greater the risk of injury. That's hard on a backup to get into any consistent groove of their own unless Smith is injured

 

I disagree. I think the problem with Smith is he's given too much leverage.

Reign him in and manage his starts.

This isn't Arizona where he does as he pleases.

[rickross]

8 minutes ago, conundrumed said:

I disagree. I think the problem with Smith is he's given too much leverage.

Reign him in and manage his starts.

This isn't Arizona where he does as he pleases.

He gets leverage because he's the undisputed starter, Smith was never battling for a job, injury is Smiths only competition on this team. I'd love to be able to manage his stats and reduce his mileage and risk of injury but we don't have that luxury...yet. We still don't know if and when Rittich or Gillies will be capable of full time duties. We have to ride Smith, he gives us the best chance to win. I think he commands his starting position because he's a proven NHL goalie, that's his leverage. 

 

Hes old, I get it. I'd want to manage his play time as much as possible too but we just can't trust our backups to win us games consistently yet. 

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, rickross said:

He gets leverage because he's the undisputed starter, Smith was never battling for a job, injury is Smiths only competition on this team. I'd love to be able to manage his stats and reduce his mileage and risk of injury but we don't have that luxury...yet. We still don't know if and when Rittich or Gillies will be capable of full time duties. We have to ride Smith, he gives us the best chance to win. I think he commands his starting position because he's a proven NHL goalie, that's his leverage. 

 

Hes old, I get it. I'd want to manage his play time as much as possible too but we just can't trust our backups to win us games consistently yet. 

 

That's unfortunate then, isn't it.

If this team is going anywhere this season, it's not going to be Smith playing 60 games.

IT will be on the backup being able to play 30.  

Need to find that out sooner than later.

Before it's too late to recover.

Going all in on Smith is going to end bad.

 

[kehatch]

6 hours ago, travel_dude said:

 

That's unfortunate then, isn't it.

If this team is going anywhere this season, it's not going to be Smith playing 60 games.

IT will be on the backup being able to play 30.  

Need to find that out sooner than later.

Before it's too late to recover.

Going all in on Smith is going to end bad.

 

 

We need both. Smith is our starter. He is going to play 55-60 of the games in the regular season and all of the games in the playoffs. He needs to be good. We also need Rittich to be good because we dont want to be forced to overplay Smith. 

 

It's possible this is the season Smith loses the starter role and either shares starts or becomes a backup. But I need to see a couple more strong starts from Rittich and stinkers from Smith first. Like I said above, there are currently a lot of elite goalies at the bottom of the statistical pile right now and a lot of backups at the top. It's a symptom of being 5 games in.