Coyotes battle back, clip Wings
It was somewhat unusual to see Coyotes goalie Mike Smith between the pipes Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings after he worked 65 minutes and six rounds of a shootout the night before in Anaheim.
But coach Dave Tippett had no problem going with Smith on back-to-back nights. Smith made 37 saves against the Ducks but allowed four goals on six shot attempts in the shootout en route to a 3-2 loss.
“Why not?” Tippett said before the game. “He knows he can be better than he was (Friday) night.” Smith wasn’t just better. He went above and beyond the call of duty by adding a goal in a 5-2 comeback win for the Coyotes in front of 14,624 at Jobing.com Arena, becoming the 11th goaltender in the NHL to score and the first in franchise history.
“I don’t know what to say really,” Smith said. “Obviously I’m thrilled with the way we played. It’s just a bonus to be able to score a goal in this league obviously as a goaltender.”
After making one final save, his 31st of the night, Smith sent the puck dead-center down the ice and the shot crossed the goal line with 0.1 of second remaining.
It was the 14th goal scored by a goalie in NHL history, but Smith is only the seventh to actually shoot the puck into the net. After recording an assist last Sunday in Carolina, Smith’s two points are more than six Coyotes players.
“Everything has to work right and the clock has to slow down at the right time of the game to let it trickle in over the line,” said Smith, who also scored a goal in his first year pro in the East Coast Hockey League. ‘It’s just a bonus to a great win.”
Following Friday’s game in which the Coyotes let a third-period lead dissolve, Smith was critical of the team’s play and said, “We were scared to win.”
Against the Red Wings, they were much better coming from behind as they trailed for most of the game.
“I might have overreacted a little bit with (Friday) night’s comments, but that’s the way I felt and, like I said, I might have been a little harsh but I thought we responded,” Smith said. “Not just from what I said, but we just played the way we need to play.”
The Coyotes fell behind 2-0 in the first period after goals from Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi, but with a minute left in the second, center Antoine Vermette finished a two-on-one to put the comeback in motion.
Center Mike Ribeiro tied it at 5:07 of the third, center Martin Hanzal made it 3-2 only 2:01 later and then Ribeiro added his second at 13:14 to extend his point streak to six games.
Smith one-upped Ribeiro’s performance with his last-second goal, but it might never have happened if Smith didn’t stay in the game after going down in the second period and getting looked at by a trainer.
After he made a stick save, Smith fell onto his stomach and grabbed his neck.
It’s just a bonus to be able to score a goal in this league obviously as a goaltender.”
MIKE SMITH Coyotes goalie, after scoring a goal on Saturday night vs. the Red Wings
The Red Wings scored while Smith was down, but the goal was waved off.
“I just kind of had a stinger go up my neck and just kind of locked up for a second,” Smith said.
No doubt Smith left a lasting impression with Red Wings coach Mike Babcock, who will also be Team Canada’s coach at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Russia.
“If it is against the head coach, then all the better,” Smith said. “But I’m just trying to do that every game; doesn’t matter who I’m playing against. It’s just an added bonus.”