Coyotes' Smith better equipped to handle pressure, avoid slumps
Mike Smith got off to a rocky start this season, and the Coyotes still aren't out of the woods with a 6-7-1 record that has them sitting in 11th place in the Western Conference.
When Smith stares down the ice at the Dallas net Tuesday night at Gila River Arena, however, he'll do so with a much bigger perspective than the 178 feet between the nets affords.
"We could sit here and talk for 100 years about how I've changed since then," said Smith, Dallas' fifth-round pick (161st overall) in 2001. "When you're 20, 21 or 22, there's not much more to life than hockey, but I've got three kids, I'm married and I've got a dog now.
"I'm not saying hockey isn't important to me. We all know that's not true. But it's not the most important thing anymore and that makes it easier to go back to the rink after tough days because when you wake up, your kids don't know you just got shellacked. You're still just dad."
In that sense, Smith is well equipped to be the Coyotes' lightning rod -- a role he has held since he replaced free-agent departure Ilya Bryzgalov after the 2010-11 season.
In his first season, he was under pressure to replicate Bryzgalov's regular-season success and carry that success over into the playoffs when Bryzgalov could not. With each successive season, the pressure on Smith has mounted as the list of proven veteran scorers or blue-liners dwindled on the Coyotes' roster.
When he allowed 16 goals on 90 shots (.822 save percentage) in his first three games this season, it was easy for critics to say that the 2012 run to the Western Conference Final was the anomaly in Smith's career stats. Even if other factors played a role, he hadn't delivered anything close to those numbers since.
"I used to get wrapped up in that stuff so much," he admitted. "Every game you start, it makes it that much more exhausting because of all the white noise that goes on in the background."
Stars at Coyotes
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale
TV: FOX Sports Arizona
Records: Dallas 4-6-4; Arizona 6-7-1
Injuries: Dallas F Cody Eakin missed the past two games with an upper body injury and still is day to day, but he is possible for Tuesday. F Valeri Nichushkin was placed on IR to allow his sore groin and hip to heal. D Alex Goligoski missed Monday's practice with a maintenance day. Arizona F David Moss (upper body) is week-to-week.
Quick facts: The Stars just completed a 0-3 homestand and are winless in their last seven overall (0-5-2). Dallas has been outscored 28-16 in that stretch. ... Dallas is allowing 3.5 goals per game, the second-worst mark in the NHL. The Stars are 28th in save percentage at .887 and 26th in penalty kill at 76 percent. ... Dallas F Antoine Roussel was fined $5,376.34 (the maximum allowed under the CBA) for punching an unsuspecting opponent, San Jose D Justin Braun, but he was not suspended and should play Tuesday.
But maturity, perspective and family have allowed him to tune out the chatter.
"Just look at the fact that he was picked as one of three Olympic goaltenders for Canada last year," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "To me, that speaks volumes about the outside opinion of him. When other teams play our team, they know he can be a major factor in games and he has the ability to be the backbone of our team."
Can Smith do it as consistently as he did that one miraculous season? It's both an easy question and a complex answer. He was in that kind of zone late last season until an injury in New York sidelined him for the stretch run.
But the team in front of him has to play more consistently, too. The Coyotes have been a train wreck in their own end for much of this season. The structure and discipline they've shown the past few games is the blueprint for how this team can succeed, if they can just score enough with a forward group short on top-end skill.
"We were just talking about this after the Islanders game," Tippett said. "You lose 1-0, that's a game where our goalie gave us a chance to win on a back-to-back. His game, I think is certainly moving to where he's expected to be."
Since that disastrous start, Smith has allowed 19 goals on 248 shots (.923 save percentage) over his last eight games. He knows there will be more potholes in the road, but he believes he's better equipped to manage them.
"Having teammates and a coaching staff that believe you can be the guy obviously helps, and Burkie (assistant to the GM/goalie coach Sean Burke) has obviously been huge," Smith said. "But I've figured it out. When you go through tough stretches or tough games, you learn from those instances and it makes it that much easier to come out."
As for pressure, Smith accepted that responsibility long before he signed his six-year, $34 million extension in the summer of 2013.
"Goaltending is a huge part of wins and losses in this league, but saying that, there are some teams where the goalie is much more important than some other teams," he said.
"I like that about playing here. I like that pressure. It sucks when you're not playing well but when you're winning games, sometimes even you don't deserve to, that's really rewarding and it builds confidence."
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter
