Goalie Smith aims to master fiery emotions
Goalie had emotions in check Tuesday and it showed,
This will always be a bit of a tightrope walk for Calgary Flames puck-stopper Mike Smith.
How do you stay calm and cool without losing the competitive edge that comes from such a fiery nature?
How does a heart-on-his-sleeve sort keep his pulse thumping at just the right rate in one of the most pressure-packed positions in the sporting world?
“Yeah, I’m an intense guy but that’s one thing I’ve really worked on over the course of the last few years is to try to manage those emotions in the right way and not let it overtake the calmness about the game,” Smith said after Wednesday’s practice in St. Louis, the second stop for the Flames on a three-game jaunt.
“You see some guys that are super calm and can play like that. I can’t do that. But it’s a fine line between being too emotional and having the right body language so that your team knows you’re kind of feeling it. It’s an everyday battle to keep your mind right.”
Smith wasn’t just kind of feeling it during Thursday’s 3-0 victory in Nashville.
He was unflappable.
And unbeatable.
The 36-year-old delivered 43 saves in Music City, not only his finest showing in his three starts this season but one of the most impressive nights in club lore.
Since this franchise moved north from Atlanta in 1980, a Flames netminder has never stopped more rubber in a perfect performance. (Smith set the standard exactly one year earlier, racking up 43 stops in his slumpbusting shutout of the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Oct. 9, 2017.)
“I think in the past, if you look at his record when he’s faced over 35 shots, it’s usually pretty good,” reminded Flames goaltending coach Jordan Sigalet. “Sometimes, it’s better to be that guy getting peppered than the guy at the other end not seeing that many shots. It just keeps you in the game, you know? Sometimes, when you’re in games and you’re not getting a lot of shots, you start over-trying or overthinking. At times, you’re moving before the puck comes or making too big of movements because you’re almost bored back there.”
Smith likely won’t be battling boredom as the Flames shoot for their third-straight victory in Thursday’s clash with the Blues in St. Louis (6 p.m. MT, Sportsnet Flames/Sportsnet 960 The Fan).
This was originally circled on the calendar in Bill Peters’ office as an opportunity to dust off backup David Rittich, but it would be a stunner if No. 41 doesn’t lead his squad onto the ice in the Show-Me State.
“When the team is playing well, you want to play. You want to be in there and be helping the group,” Smith said after Wednesday’s practice at Enterprise Center, where the Flames also had a local fill-in in pads to help manage the workload of their marquee masked man.
“The first two games didn’t quite go as I had planned, but nothing ever does. You just want to get on a little bit of a roll.”
The Flames certainly need their go-to goalie in a groove.
On opening night in Vancouver, Smith surrendered four goals on 22 shots.
Although the Flames were victorious in a rematch with the Canucks in Calgary, he allowed four more on just 20 attempts.
Those sort of stats invite scrutiny.
By blanking one of the NHL’s top troupes on the same night that the Predators raised their Presidents’ Trophy banner from last season, Smith sent the same message to his critics that he occasionally needs to send himself:
Stay calm.
“The first couple of games, I think you’re almost over-trying to get back into the swing of things,” Smith said.
“I noticed a big difference (Tuesday) in my demeanour, my mindset, the calmness about my game. I felt more like I was letting shots come to me, instead of trying to go get it. If you play tense, it limits how you can move.
“I’m not saying I felt terrible in the first two games, I just definitely felt more calm and free (Tuesday), mentally and physically.”
It’s a fine line between being too emotional and having the right body language so that your team knows you’re kind of feeling it.