Slack Sundays: David Rittich shines, road trip is over, the third line, and Grey Cup Sunday

Here it is, friends: a late game last night, so a later than normal slack Sundays. Today we chatted about David Rittich’s first NHL start (and win!); how the six-game road trip went now that it’s all over; and what, exactly, is up with the third line, and Sam Bennett in particular. Things aren’t dire, but they are confusing.

Also, because today is the Grey Cup, bonus Stampeders talk! There’s a linebreak in there to split it up, so if you don’t care about football, you can ignore everything below that line. In which we kind of preview the game that’s taking place in an hour, but the conversation devolved back into trying to understand Jason Maas’ decision to go for a field goal, because it has been a week and it still makes no sense.

ctibs (Christian Tiberi): How about that David Rittich character?

arii (Ari Yanover): I like him, he seems nice. What I really liked though was that there was just zero panic to his game yesterday. He wasn’t caught out of position, there were no mad scrambles, he just took the pucks as they came and looked like he belonged the entire time.

ctibs: i worry though because he’s occasionally played the exact opposite way in the AHL from time to time

arii: oh yeah it was only one game

ctibs: he’s going to have a lack night eventually

karimkurji: His calmness really struck me. That is so key I think when looking at a backup goalie. You want stability, not to see him scrambling all the time. Christian is absolutely right though, his stats are a rollercoaster that end up looking good on the average.

arii: Also what happens when the Flames defence decides to burn him the way they burned Smith the couple of games before? Because they really cleaned themselves up last night and put together a mostly solid effort, and you hope that lasts, but you also know it isn’t going to be that way the rest of the season. It pretty much never is for any group

ctibs: it’s also against the avalanche who were also on the back to back. context matters and what not

karimkurji: True but the Flames had also played the night before. It’s not like they had a fresher team or anything right

arii: no but the Avalanche are actually bad so

karimkurji: True

ctibs: it was a weird schedule game and probably not the real bonafide NHL experience

karimkurji: I have more confidence in Rittich than I do Lack, though. Although Lack apparently played well for Stockton last night

arii: Lack didn’t exactly get a fair shake. wasn’t that the logic in sending him down? “Well he’s literally never playing so…”

ctibs: rittich comes out so ahead on the optics scale. lack gets two bad relief games, whereas rittich gets one good one. fortunate for him, unfortunate for eddie. i guess they felt that this was a three headed monster situation, but one they could actually get away with?

karimkurji: Three headed monster situation in the minors is way better than in the NHL

arii: I mean… so far, so good?

karimkurji: And they’re competing for the backup role, not the starter spot

arii: Yeah that’s not really in doubt. Plus there should be more opportunities for the backup to get more starts since the schedule gets a little less spread out.

karimkurji: I like Rittich’s personality so far. He seems like a really good dude who loves Jagr and is stoked to be in the NHL. Which is cool

arii: so basically, any of us, if we were czech goalies

ctibs: basically any of us if we were czechs

arii: haha. Anyway! The longass road trip is finally over. Fun last game aside, how do you think they did overall?

ctibs: eh. the good and the bad were there. brodie-hamonic imploding was concerning. the third line not being in a controlled environment was obvious

arii: They did put together a couple of good games though. I’d say from the Washington-Dallas stretch they were unlucky to not score

karimkurji: They bounced back from their losses well I felt

croatis (Christian Roatis): 3-2-1 roadtrip probably should’ve been 4-1-1

arii: Yeah should’ve had the Dallas game

croatis: Both Dallas game have kinda gone the same way

ctibs: washington and dallas were good games for them, but otherwise unnoticeable. they had one great shift yesterday after the goal against and that was mostly it. i wonder how you fix that, though

arii: Does it need fixing? They’re the third line. How often do you want them to be getting chances throughout the year?

ctibs: not the immediate thing i guess. the team has been getting along fine without them blowing the doors off. but imagine three great lines

croatis: For me, they’re fine as, like you said, the third line. I’m just more generally disappointed in Bennett specifically

arii: Three great lines doesn’t mean three lines will be producing for 82 games.

croatis: I feel like he’s just… devolved since his rookie year

karimkurji: You also shouldn’t need to rely on the third line for production. They should chip in every now and then but they don’t need to score every night

croatis: From rag tag 18 year old Sam Bennett with all star potential to 21 year Samuel Bennett, grinder.

karimkurji: Bennett is a bust

croatis: Very unfortunate

karimkurji: He’s actually bad

croatis: There’s still time though, I think

ctibs: i thought secondary scoring was a concern of some sort. like the 3M line got shutdown against dallas. if the first line doesn’t score four goals, it’s just an embarassing game

arii: I guess I’m just not following what your expectations are.

croatis: *puts on Ryan hat* How many teams consistently get bottom 6 scoring?

ctibs: a line that is better than 45CF% and has more than 13 combined points?

arii: Yeah, that’s fair.

ctibs: jagr gets PP1 time too so they might actually be at 11 combined points at 5v5

croatis: It’s been PP2 lately – and that’s worth talking about. They’ve been so good

arii: That line has also only been together for 9/23 games.

croatis: Jagr’s puck management fits really well with Backlund and Tkachuk. … Yeah let’s give them until January maybe? If they do want to improve their bottom 6 at the trade deadline though, who do they do it with? There’s no obvious candidates

karimkurji: I dunno, I think that third line will be fine. They looked pretty good at home with basically no time together

arii: Bennett really is the biggest concern when it comes to all of this

croatis: Just wait until April and Playoff Sam Bennett emerges

karimkurji: I’d be totally fine with that honestly. Then ship him out in the offseason after a Conn Smythe win

arii: Hahaha. He shows so many flashes and then just, nothing? It’s so weird.

karimkurji: He’s such a frustrating player to watch.

arii: I can’t explain it. Just about everything points towards a player who should have it together by now. He was flying with Gaudreau and Ferland in that preseason game. But you can’t even point to the “well it’s preseason, it’s meaningless” argument because he was one of their better players in the playoffs, too. There’s like no middle ground with him.

ctibs: i just can’t piece it together either. like he excels whenever he’s with gaudreau but can’t make anything happen in soft minutes on the third line. just… what

karimkurji: Life would honestly be easier if we could just label him as a bust, either send him down or trade him for some picks, and then play Mangiapane in his spot.

ctibs: hot take: use jankowski’s waiver exemption, call up mangiapane, try it out for 20 games, go back to 93-77-68 if it doesn’t work

karimkurji: So you want Mangiapane – Bennett – Jagr?

ctibs: not going to hurt to try and both janko and yeastmode will have spots here next year anyways so why not

croatis: Not a bad idea

arii: well does Jankowski deserve that though. “Hey Mark remember how we demoted you that one time before for no reason? How about round 2?”

karimkurji: Has Jankowski really been that much better than Bennett at center?

ctibs: well if only they could waive lazar, but everyone is going to put in a claim for a guy who’s worth a second round pick. (jankowski) looks better, but the results suggest a lot of the same

karimkurji: Can’t risk losing semi-regular 4th liner Lazar, no sir

arii: I just think back to Burke, I believe, saying Lazar would be a key member of the club for the next 10 years and then how some people treat people in hockey management like they’re infallible. what in the heck did they see

ctibs: a nice smile

arii: So how about that there local football team???

ctibs: bo levi is good and he kicks ass

croatis: Much better than the one Toronto doesn’t even know they have imo

ctibs: i hope they destroy toronto because then toronto sports folks come out like “ha, we don’t even care!” while they burn internally

arii: See my thing is like, last year they lost McDaniel early and that sunk them. Mitchell lost his most consistent receiver and it took them over half a game to even come anywhere near figuring things out. McDaniel misses like the last month of the year, Stamps play like garbage, comes back for the West Final, Stamps are gods again. So I’m just afraid like… please don’t hurt McDaniel he is very important. otoh, it seems as though every time the Stamps play the Argos Hughes ends up knocking Ray out of the game??

karimkurji: Because Charleston is a beast man

ctibs: sounds like a workable strategy. “kill the quarterback”

arii: It keeps happening!! It’s always Hughes specifically! Like at least three times in the past two years!

ctibs: also speaking of ricky ray, how great is it that edmonton teams keep shopping out championship-level talent?

karimkurji: I don’t understand how Ray is so good even at 73 years old.

arii: oh my goodness it’s amazing

ctibs: it’s not just limited to one organization

karimkurji: I was gonna say, this trend transcends sports even

arii: It’s a good thing the Esks lost last week, because there’s an Oilers game during the Grey Cup, so now Edmonton doesn’t have to pick and choose which failure to watch. … THE FIELD GOAL DECISION. Just… HOW. That is one of the single most stupid calls I have ever seen across any sport, ever. Bless you, Edmonton

croatis: Hughes is a great character. “Hopefully they’re able to protect Ricky on Sunday. *looks at camera* good luck with that”

karimkurji: “Hopefully they’re able to protect Ricky on Sunday.” *narrator* they were not … That field goal was hilarious though. I love when professional sports people mess up single digit addition

arii: It’s been a week and I still don’t get it. I’m still so confused. I just want to understand that which can never be understood. It kinda took the wind out of the sails for a triumphant celebration. Less “WOOOO” and more “I mean, I’m really happy and all, BUT…”

ctibs: i’m guessing he thought they could get the onside kick?

arii: They didn’t even try that though!

ctibs: (i was at work and did not watch the game) … oh yeah that’s right. but i guess a rouge from a kickoff would also work. it did not

arii: I was physically at the game so in my section we’re like, okay? This is weird but okay?? They’ll go for the onside kick th– they’re not going for the onside kick… what???

ctibs: i guess the “take the points” mentality won over

arii: “We need a TD, no matter what. We have the MOP in the pocket. Four yards keeps us going, and we just completed a massive 3rd & 10. We’re 13 yards out. Let’s take the points now and hope we can hold them to a 2 and out and try to get back the field position we have to work with right now.” WHY

ctibs: didn’t he say he stood by that choice too? hahahahahahaha

arii: He did! I don’t know what else he can say at that point! “Well I’m clearly just a moron?” We know, Jason! We know!

karimkurji: There is no logical reason why they wouldn’t gamble on third down with that little left on the clock. moron is the best explanation

arii: Even if they lost they still need a TD to tie it and they’d be giving the Stamps the long field. Literally no downside to going for it, get the down or not, it’s the best case scenario either way

ctibs: “we have five quarters, right?”

karimkurji: points on the board is fine if there’s too much time for the opposition to kill off. but like… that was definitely not the case so

arii: “Under two minutes to go against an offence that, at its best, rivals ours. We’ll get the ball back, no problem!” /ron howard voice/ They did not get the ball back.

karimkurji: Not gambling there sealed the deal

arii: This is how bad it was, the actual championship game is very soon and I’m still stressed over how someone could make a call so bad from a week ago

karimkurji: another possible explanation: esks were banking on a fumble off the snap?

arii: At that point they’re just playing 5D chess

karimkurji: Haha well they weren’t playing football

arii: And now they aren’t the rest of the year, and very soon, the Stamps will be.