Mike Smith Can’t Catch a Break, Catches Edge Instead (Gif)
By Adam Pierce
ICYMI: Last night’s game between the Anaheim Ducks and the Arizona Coyotes was an interesting one.
The game featured a dormant offense for the Coyotes, a star-studded Mike Smith, and the dominance of possession by the Anaheim Ducks.
Mike Smith was on fire, as he stopped the first 20 shots he faced in last night’s game.
THEN. He ended up letting shot number 21 slip past him in… a bizarre way, to give Anaheim the one goal lead with 5:52 left in the second period.
We all know that Smith is a goaltender who enjoys playing the puck out of the crease, and last night the Ducks capitalized on a miscue made outside of the blue paint. Smith has a history of assists from firing the puck down the ice, but also has a list of mistakes made by skating out of the crease. Last night, his list of misfortunes grew.
Mike Smith stopped 28 of 30 shots and ended the game with a .933 save percentage. Smith had gone 20 for 20 until this happened:
As you can, see the Ducks dump the puck deep in to the Coyotes zone to set up a play. Smith skates behind the net to intercept the puck, slips on his skates, and falls to the ice. Zbynek Michalek attempts to help clear the puck away from Smith, only to be nudged by Ryan Kesler and fall on top of Smith. There is not enough time for Smitty to get up with Michalek on top of him before Kyle Palmieri puts it in for the score.
Gif provided by @myregularface
So that happened.
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