Todd Cordell: G52 Calgary Flames @ Washington Capitals: Five things to watch

OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!! GAMEDAY BABY

Game day on a Friday after a looooooong ass Break!

You can all GFY! But be gentle.

Game day on a Friday after a looooooong ass Break!

You can all GFY! But be gentle.
- DuranDuran

AND I CAN WATCH IT AT 7PM THEN GO TO HOCKEY WOOOOOO, I WON'T MISS IT

With respect, should be "6 Things To Watch" (why is it always 5?)



And the Caps are complaining about Tkachuk being a "pest"?!

https://www.nbcsports.com...als-patience-friday-night

Fair assessment. Caps high quality chances given up are extra-ordinary. They take a lot of penalties as well.
Face offs are going to be a weak spot va Flames as well as it is with most opponents.
Caps need to win on the forecheck and press Smith playing the puck. The 3rd line will win or lose for Was.
Kuzy needs to step up. Flames will have a tough time containing Vranas speed.

You can throw all the stats and trends out the window when both teams haven't played in a month. Should be an ugly game. Hopefully the good kind of ugly for the Flames.

Brassard to Florida

"We love Smitty's puckhandling ability," Bill Peters said following the morning skate at Capital One Arena. "A team that forechecks and does a good job putting the puck in behind you, which is Washington and Carolina, his ability to handle the puck makes a big difference. It allows us to break out clean and spend less time in the d-zone."

We'll probably use them both on this trip so Smitty will go tonight and we'll re-evaluate tomorrow."

Interesting quote from Peters. Sound to me like Smith may even play both games if he shows well tonight. Not sure how I feel about that.

"We love Smitty's puckhandling ability," Bill Peters said following the morning skate at Capital One Arena. "A team that forechecks and does a good job putting the puck in behind you, which is Washington and Carolina, his ability to handle the puck makes a big difference. It allows us to break out clean and spend less time in the d-zone."

We'll probably use them both on this trip so Smitty will go tonight and we'll re-evaluate tomorrow."

Interesting quote from Peters. Sound to me like Smith may even play both games if he shows well tonight. Not sure how I feel about that.
- tincup

This is classic Peters overthinking things.

Somebody needs to take him aside and let him know that because nobody did in Raleigh and that's where he started getting into trouble: spending too much time trying to tweak weird little things against specific opponents while the overall game falls apart.

Hopefully he's learned from his mistakes. Guy's really smart, he just galaxy brains himself into mistakes if nobody tells him he's doing it.

Is BP losing his mind or assessing Smith to see if BT needs to shop for a backup

Maybe he doesn't have trust in Smith but is getting pressured to give him one last shot

"We love Smitty's puckhandling ability," Bill Peters said following the morning skate at Capital One Arena. "A team that forechecks and does a good job putting the puck in behind you, which is Washington and Carolina, his ability to handle the puck makes a big difference. It allows us to break out clean and spend less time in the d-zone."

We'll probably use them both on this trip so Smitty will go tonight and we'll re-evaluate tomorrow."

Interesting quote from Peters. Sound to me like Smith may even play both games if he shows well tonight. Not sure how I feel about that.
- tincup

Fear not, nothing to worry about. Mike Smith sucks, one of the worst goalies over the last year, he won't be in next game, might not even make it through this one

Fear not, nothing to worry about. Mike Smith sucks, one of the worst goalies over the last year, he won't be in next game, might not even make it through this one
- Squilliam-

Kind of what I think. The game's gotten quicker and Smith's gotten a bit slower. Maybe this is his last chance to show something before BT goes shopping.

What people don't get is coaches don't use stats. That's what GMs are for. Coaches mostly use video to analyze everything, including every goal and why it went in. Smith has been much, much better recently than the stats show, and the team has been winning when he plays. The coach has more than enough reasons to have confidence in him.

If anything, there have been a lot more signs that they may need to start worrying about Rittich. He's let in a lot of bad goals recently, the type of goals he was letting in last year that sunk the team. Hopefully, the break fixed him.

Best case is they both look good after the month off and they can get them going on a 60/40, 1a/1b split.

What people don't get is coaches don't use stats. That's what GMs are for. Coaches mostly use video to analyze everything, including every goal and why it went in. Smith has been much, much better recently than the stats show, and the team has been winning when he plays. The coach has more than enough reasons to have confidence in him.

If anything, there have been a lot more signs that they may need to start worrying about Rittich. He's let in a lot of bad goals recently, the type of goals he was letting in last year that sunk the team. Hopefully, the break fixed him.

Best case is they both look good after the month off and they can get them going on a 60/40, 1a/1b split.
- Hunkulese

I am really biting my tongue on this one. Can you explain to me why coaches would not use a useful tool at their disposal? One that can give them a different outlook on how to do a better job?

Really interested in your reply.

What people don't get is coaches don't use stats. That's what GMs are for. Coaches mostly use video to analyze everything, including every goal and why it went in. Smith has been much, much better recently than the stats show, and the team has been winning when he plays. The coach has more than enough reasons to have confidence in him.

If anything, there have been a lot more signs that they may need to start worrying about Rittich. He's let in a lot of bad goals recently, the type of goals he was letting in last year that sunk the team. Hopefully, the break fixed him.

Best case is they both look good after the month off and they can get them going on a 60/40, 1a/1b split.
- Hunkulese

It has been 9 days off not a month you donkey.

Is BP losing his mind or assessing Smith to see if BT needs to shop for a backup

Maybe he doesn't have trust in Smith but is getting pressured to give him one last shot
- LittleBroDougie

I think this is Smity´s last chance. Chances are he gets a couple tough starts to show if he can stand on his head or not. I imagine he is smart enough to realize that he is not only playing for a backup job this year but also a poopload of $$$ money for his next contract.

Lets hope he can rise to the occasion.

What people don't get is coaches don't use stats. That's what GMs are for. Coaches mostly use video to analyze everything, including every goal and why it went in. Smith has been much, much better recently than the stats show, and the team has been winning when he plays. The coach has more than enough reasons to have confidence in him.

If anything, there have been a lot more signs that they may need to start worrying about Rittich. He's let in a lot of bad goals recently, the type of goals he was letting in last year that sunk the team. Hopefully, the break fixed him.

Best case is they both look good after the month off and they can get them going on a 60/40, 1a/1b split.
- Hunkulese

Peters used to get reports from the Canes stats guys all the time. Said it really provided insight into the things that he just didn't see and helps you watch for problems that you otherwise might not notice

A quick look at Smith's last 11 games where he's gone 9-2. .907 SV% and 2.63 GAA. Much better then he was early in the year. BTW, the Flames scored avg 4.7 goals for him. Rittich this season has been, .918 SV % and 2.47 GAA.

What people don't get is coaches don't use stats. That's what GMs are for. Coaches mostly use video to analyze everything, including every goal and why it went in. Smith has been much, much better recently than the stats show, and the team has been winning when he plays. The coach has more than enough reasons to have confidence in him.

If anything, there have been a lot more signs that they may need to start worrying about Rittich. He's let in a lot of bad goals recently, the type of goals he was letting in last year that sunk the team. Hopefully, the break fixed him.

Best case is they both look good after the month off and they can get them going on a 60/40, 1a/1b split.
- Hunkulese

What kind of coach doesn't use stats? Why would they not use a tool that is helpful for them? The coaches job is to ice the best possible lineup, and guess what player stats play a big role in determining what that lineup looks like.

The timing of this really makes me think this is about seeing if we need to find a backup by the deadline, not "we have confidence in Smith". I don't think anyone has that much confidence in Smtih right now, besides you I guess. I hope Smith shows he's figured it out and we don't need to go out and find a backup. I hope he takes this chance and shows it. But until he does so on a consistent basis I'm not going to have confidence in him. It's up to him to prove me wrong.

A quick look at Smith's last 11 games where he's gone 9-2. .907 SV% and 2.63 GAA. Much better then he was early in the year. BTW, the Flames scored avg 4.7 goals for him. Rittich this season has been, .918 SV % and 2.47 GAA.
- tincup

That is promising to see, for sure, and if he keeps it up I will gladly come in here and eat crow. But he's lost us too many games this year for me to not be nervous whenever he's in net. If he turns that good stretch of play into a much longer and more constitent one, I will be much less.nervous.

That is promising to see, for sure, and if he keeps it up I will gladly come in here and eat crow. But he's lost us too many games this year for me to not be nervous whenever he's in net. If he turns that good stretch of play into a much longer and more constitent one, I will be much less.nervous.
- Helios

While Smith has improved, Rittich is still playing better. IMO, Rittich is just quicker and able to make saves that Smith can't get to.

What people don't get is coaches don't use stats. That's what GMs are for. Coaches mostly use video to analyze everything, including every goal and why it went in. Smith has been much, much better recently than the stats show, and the team has been winning when he plays. The coach has more than enough reasons to have confidence in him.

If anything, there have been a lot more signs that they may need to start worrying about Rittich. He's let in a lot of bad goals recently, the type of goals he was letting in last year that sunk the team. Hopefully, the break fixed him.

Best case is they both look good after the month off and they can get them going on a 60/40, 1a/1b split.
- Hunkulese

I have to disagree. I think he has let in one or 2 bad goals the last little while from what I remember. When he gets beat, its usually a crazy deflection off a stick

I have to disagree. I think he has let in one or 2 bad goals the last little while from what I remember. When he gets beat, its usually a crazy deflection off a stick
- Squilliam-

There was like 3 games in a row where he let in a goal in the last minute where the puck just kind of found a way through him. Could be bad luck or it could be an indicator he's not as focused as he was, and those were the types of goals he was letting in last year.

I am really biting my tongue on this one. Can you explain to me why coaches would not use a useful tool at their disposal? One that can give them a different outlook on how to do a better job?

Really interested in your reply.
- DuranDuran

Some stats can be useful, but a lot of them are just a shortcut for people who can't dedicate 10 hours a day watching tape.

Stats don't really mean much when you're judging goalies. Stats will say if you're not saving at least 91% of the shots, you're a bad goalie, but not all shots are equal and the numbers can get skewed pretty easily. The only way to really judge how a goalie is playing is by analyzing the goals they let in.

They've won 10 of Smith's last 12, and he's played pretty well during that stretch. There's no reason Peters wouldn't have confidence in him.