It was a wild first half for the NHLFlames with plenty of drama and players playing under their potential. EricFrancis gives the team a report card at mid-season.
Few in Calgary are shocked he’s capable of handling himself as a starter, but none would have guessed the ever-popular Czech character would be amongst league leaders in starts and wins .The plan heading into the season was to ride the hot hand between Rittich and Cam Talbot, with an eye on ensuring neither played much more than 50 games.
Rittich is on pace to shatter that glass ceiling, which says plenty about how dependable he has been. Up until the last handful of starts, he has been the team’s undisputed MVP of the first half of the season, keeping the suddenly-low scoring Flames in all sorts of games they’d otherwise have lost. Picking up his 53rd career win in his 100th NHL start Sunday, Rittich is now the sixth-winningest goalie in Flames history. To do that in just three seasons speaks to how surprisingly effective he’s been, as well as how dire the goaltending situations have been in Calgary the last 40 years outside of Mikka Kiprusoff and Mike Vernon.His next hurdle is proving he can go a whole year without the dip in play he has suffered through each of his first two seasons as an NHL backup.
There are troubling signs of late he may be regressing, but the sample size is too small as of yet to start suggesting he’s heading downhill.Stream all 82 Flames games this season with Sportsnet NOW. Get over 500 NHL games, blackout-free, including Hockey Night in Canada, all outdoor games, the All-Star Game, 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs and more.
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