DENVER – Mike Smith was smiling from ear to ear at the Ball Arena on the eve of the start of the Western Conference Finals.
The Edmonton Oilers goalkeeper, who turned 40 in March, will start the first game of the series in the best of 7 against the Colorado Avalanche here on Tuesday (8pm ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS). It’s Smith’s first trip to the conference finals since 2012, when he played for the Arizona Coyotes. They lost this series to the Los Angeles Kings in five games.
Having another chance to reach the Stanley Cup final for the first time in his career is obviously motivating.
“You realize that as you get older, your chances of pushing and running for the Stanley Cup are getting narrower and narrower,” Smith said Monday. “It’s something we’ve talked about as a group, that your chances of reaching the conference final aren’t presented every day. So it’s something you want to take advantage of when you get here and get ready to give it a try. “And to get to the last place, and that’s the final (of the Cup). And everyone will have to pull on the same rope and do their best to get there.”
Smith is 8-3 with an average of 2.70 goals against, a save percentage of 0.927 and two whites in 12 starts this postseason. He is 19-20 with a GAA of 2.44, a savings percentage of 0.930 and six whites in 41 games in the Stanley Cup Playoff race (39 starters).
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Smith said it was a “rocky year” that led to the playoffs. He suffered a lower body injury against the Anaheim Ducks on October 19 and did not play again until December 29. But even when he was injured, Oilers general manager Ken Holland said he knew Smith could take them to the postseason.
“When he plays, he has played at a high level for us. He brings arrogance, he brings confidence to our group,” Holland said. “I think he’s the best record player of his time with record handling. He helps our defense a lot, and it was just a matter of keeping him healthy and making him play regularly, practice regularly. The second half of the year , he did that. “
Smith was strong during the stretch; had consecutive white, 4-0 wins over the Nashville Predators on April 14 and the Vegas Golden Knights on April 16, becoming the sixth goalkeeper in 40 years or older to do so, joining to Dominik Hasek (twice), Johnny Bower. (twice), Martin Brodeur, Dwayne Roloson and George Hainsworth.
Smith signed with the Oilers as a free agent on July 1, 2019. He is in the first of two years of a $ 4.4 million contract (annual average value of $ 2.2 million) that he signed for stay with them on July 24, 2021. Smith is 299-263-78 with a GAA of 2.70, a savings rate of 0.912 and 44 white in 670 NHL games (645 starts) with the Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Coyotes, Calgary Flames and Oilers. He has another chance to reach the Cup final, and his teammates said they believe he can help them get there.
“We have a lot of confidence in ‘Smitty,'” Edmonton captain Connor McDavid said. “He’s 40 years old, but he brings so much energy and so much passion to the game. He fights so hard inside that it makes you want to play with him, in front of him, for sure.”