Two goalies with sub-.900 save percentages enter the rink. Two goalies… play well? And the rest of the Flames were, in theory, also there.
Feel of the game
After David Rittich got his first career shutout, and considering Mike Smith’s play as of late, there was understandable opposition to his starting the game. That was only reinforced when the Sharks opened the scoring just 50 seconds in, and there was an immediate vibe of “oh, great, Smith is old and bad, here we go again.”
But for two things: while it was a shot Smith theoretically could have had, the Flames had every chance to clear the zone and couldn’t.