Habs’ Price shows Smith how it’s done
Undoubtedly frustrated, admittedly even a bit flabbergasted, struggling puck-stopper Mike Smith might not have realized he was staring Thursday at proof there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Standing about 175 feet away, in the opposite goal-crease at the Saddledome. Standing, it seemed, on his head for the Canadiens.
“I think a good example is just looking at the guy at the other end last night,” said Calgary Flames goaltending coach Jordan Sigalet, referring to Thursday’s 3-2 home heartbreaker against the Habs. “Carey Price came out the other day saying how he knows he’s not mentally strong right now and that he needed a reset.”
You never would have guessed it during Thursday’s 43-save, firststar showing against the Flames, but Price had admitted less than a week earlier that he was suddenly short of confidence, revealing to reporters that the root of his slump was “all upstairs.”
Smith, supposedly the go-to goalie at the Saddledome, likely knows the feeling. The 36-yearold is not exactly brimming with self-belief right now.
He has said it.
You can see it.
How else do you explain Thursday’s game-winning groaner — a wrist-shot that somehow squirted between Smith’s pads with just 7:46 remaining in regulation on a night the Flames were, by almost all measures except the final score, the much better team?
For the staff at the Saddledome, the big question is how can they help pull Smith out of his fall funk? While it seems every @FlamesFan or @MemoriesOf89 on Twitter is ready to run No. 41 out of town, the team needs him. That is, they need him to be more like Mike.
In 13 appearances so far this season, Smith owns a bloated 3.48 goals-against average. His .876 save percentage is the NHL’s worst among twine-minders who have logged 10-plus starts.
“When Smitty has struggled in the past, we’ve put clips together of things he has done well and what has made him successful — whether it’s a highlight reel or just clips where he’s on and letting pucks come to him,” Sigalet said.
There should be no pressure during Saturday’s Battle of Alberta, because Smith will be warming the home bench while backup David Rittich tries to stymie superstar Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers (8 p.m., CBC/Sportsnet 960).
It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Flames stick with Rittich for a run of starts — a reward for the secondstringer, a reset for Smith.
That technique worked for Price, a spectator for consecutive contests before helping to steal that 3-2 victory over the Flames.
The Oilers are hoping it will work for Cam Talbot, with Mikko Koskinen slated for a third straight start in Calgary.
“We have a lot of confidence in Smitty,” Flames coach Bill Peters stressed after Friday’s practice.
For any goalie suddenly sprung a leak, that blue paint must feel like the brightest of spotlights.
A forward who is fighting the puck can look to immediately pass to one of his pals. A down-on-his-luck defenceman can buy himself a bit of extra time by back-pedalling early. A masked man knows that any of his mistakes will be magnified.
“It’s tough, and you feel it right away,” said Sigalet, whose own puck-stopping resume includes NCAA, AHL and a sliver of NHL action.
It won’t be easy for Smith, after allowing Artturi Lehkonen’s decisive goal to dribble through his pads, to digest this latest loss.
The only positive, perhaps, is that guy in the opposing crease proved there can be light at the end of the tunnel.