It's said that nothing is more important in the NHL playoffs than goaltending but all three Canadian contenders have questions in the crease.
Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl, right, scores on Calgary Flames goalie Mike Smith during first period NHL hockey action in Calgary, Saturday, April 6, 2019. Mike Smith and David Rittich helped the Calgary Flames finish first in the Western Conference.Smith and Rittich sounds more like a law firm than the goaltending tandem anyone expected the NHL's second-best team to have. Smith is a 37-year-old veteran with a sub.
Treliving wouldn't be surprised if coach Bill Peters uses both goalies in the playoffs, a "nontraditional" strategy but not one he thinks is a problem. Smith figures to start Game 1 of the first round against Colorado on Thursday, but it's up in the air after that. "One thing that you can't substitute is experience," Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said. "Once you go through something and you experience it, you have a mental template of how you need to act and what you liked about it, what you didn't like about it. So now he's got that experience. He likes to play big games."
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