Smith’s stellar play makes big difference for Flames
Calgary is winning games despite giving up more shots than any team but Arizona
Michael Stone has been asked about this subject before.
“Many, many times,” the Calgary Flames defender said with a chuckle.
But when the subject is your goaltender, his competitiveness and his ability to stop pucks in key situations, you don’t mind answering a few more questions.
Because Mike Smith, a 2017 National Hockey League all-star, was a big deal in the desert. And now after three games, including his first shutout as a member of his new team, the 35-year-old netminder is starting to create a buzz in Calgary too. This is not news to Stone. Nor is it surprising. “Basically my first year in Arizona, he got us to the (Western) Conference finals,” Stone said, shaking his head. “When he’s on, he’s unbelievable.”
Unbelievable, like facing 44 shots in his first game with the Flames and against one of the best players in the world in Connor McDavid, only to have the team falter in front of him and lose 3-0.
Unbelievable, like stopping another 28 shots in the team’s home opener, a 6-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
Unbelievable, like posting a 43-save effort in his first shutout of 2017-18 in a 2-0 victory at Anaheim’s Honda Center where the Flames hadn’t won a regularseason game since 2004 (for that, alone, he probably could run in Calgary’s mayoral race and win).
“I’m not sure if I can see anything in particular when he’s on,” Stone continued. “But when he’s getting all of those shots, he seems to get better and better.
“He just gets in that battle zone and he wants to make those saves. He just takes it to another level on games like that.”
And three games in, there’s certainly a lot to like.
To the surprise of no one, Smith took Tuesday off for “maintenance” as the Flames brought out a shooter-tutor in his place at the L.A. Kings practice facility, the Toyota Sports Center, in El Segundo, Calif.
In the final 14.8 seconds of Monday’s game, he appeared to jam his left arm in a goalmouth scramble but hung on to secure the victory.
Smith insisted everything was fine.
“A tough game … I want to get the mind right and get ready for (Wednesday),” he said. “There’s always little bumps and bruises that come out of every game but nothing that’s going to keep me out of the lineup.”
The Flames, however, are aiming to limit the amount of traffic Smith gets in front of him.
In an ironic twist, the Flames are second in the NHL for shots allowed (an average of 38.7) through the first three games of the season, sitting behind only — you guessed it — the Arizona Coyotes, who have allowed an average of 41.5 shots.
Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan said the shot totals may be misleading this year, just based on the NHL’s attempt to become more consistent in every arena.
But still, 40-plus shots a night is very busy for any netminder.
“I think shots are going to be up as a whole by the way they’re counting them this year,” Gulutzan said. “Anything that has a possibility to get in your net is counting as a shot. Anything that rolls to the goalie is being counted. So I think you’re going to see shot-counts getting higher.
“But certainly we’d like to outshoot our opponent on most nights so that’s something we need to get better at.”
At the moment, however, Flames general manager Brad Treliving looks like a genius for acquiring Smith in the off-season because the six-foot-four, 215-pounder has been lights-out through three games.
Smith also posted his first shutout of the season which came quickly comparatively to last year when his first goose-egg of the 2016-17 campaign came on Jan. 26, 2017 in a 3-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
“We gave up a lot of goals last year,” said Stone, who joined the Flames from the Coyotes before the 2017 NHL trade deadline, just a few months before Treliving traded for Smith from the Desert Dogs.
“It’s a confidence thing. If you’re confident in the guy you have behind you, it makes you play a little more free. Instead of chipping it out all the time, you can try and make that play. If you didn’t have confidence in the guy, you might not make it. With him back there and able to be so dynamic and make saves, it gives you confidence to make plays.”
Life is good now and they are just starting to make plays.
But there’s 79 more on the docket including Wednesday’s clash at Staples Center.
“I understand it’s a long season,” Smith said. “So I’m not going to have a party because we have won a couple games in a row, and I have a shutout already. At this point in my career and the amount of games I’ve played, things can turn pretty quickly. I never want to take that for granted.
“(Monday) is in the past as far as I’m concerned, and I’m looking forward to (Wednesday) and have that mentality all season long.”
He just gets in that battle zone and he wants to make those saves. He just takes it to another level on games like that.