Mike Smith, the King of February
Is Mike Smith the King of February?
Goaltenders have one of the hardest jobs in all of sports.
It takes a special individual to voluntarily have vulcanized discs of rubber shot at them at speeds up to 100 miles per hour.
But just like any athlete, goaltenders thrive on consistency.
Hot and cold streaks are common in this position as a goaltender can be praised and shamed for their performance at any time throughout the season.
This is all too familiar for Arizona Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith this season.
Mike Smith has had a rollercoaster season this year.
With more cold streaks than hot, Mike Smith has earned a 10-23-5 record with a 3.22 goals against average and a .897 save percentage through 38 starts this season.
Disappointing to say the least but Coyotes fans can breathe a little easily; it’s February.
Some goaltenders play better in the afternoon, on the road, in certain cities, or during the playoffs; but Mike Smith is a tad different. Smith tends to play better in the month of February.
As crazy as that sounds the numbers are consistent to that statement.
Mike Smith has only had one NHL season in the month of February with a save percentage less than .915 since joining the league in 2006.
While it is still early in February 2015, we have already seen miraculous stops like this one below:
Howlin’ Hockey breaks it down further starting with his time in Arizona.
2011-2012
Mike Smith came in to the 2011-2012 season as the new goaltender for the Coyotes after stints in Dallas and Tampa Bay.
He quickly made a name for himself with acrobatic saves and stone cold robberies against every team around the league.
The Coyotes would ride on his performance and ultimately cruise all the way to the Western Conference Final that same year as well.
February of 2012 happens to be the most prosperous month in Coyotes history.
The Phoenix Coyotes entered the month with a record of 22-21-8 and ended the month at 33-21-9 for an 11-0-1 run on the hot glove of Smith. Mike Smith only let 16 goals past him all month long for a goals against of 1.42.
By stopping 315 of 331 shots, Smith ended the month with a save percentage of .952.
The Coyotes ended up beating top tier teams like the Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks, and Los Angeles Kings.
2012-2013
Dec 22, 2014; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Brad Richardson (15) scores against Arizona Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith (41) during the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
While its hard to duplicate the record setting performance from the prior year, Mike Smith did his best to match his same effort in 2013.
2012-2013 was an abbreviated season due to an NHL lockout but when play resumed, Smith was ready for the challenge. He led the team to a 7-4-2 record in that month after starting sluggish with a 2-4-1 start in January.
During that thirteen game stretch Smitty held his own with a 2.47 goals against and a .915 save percentage.
The scoring from the offense and defense lifted Smith to a favorable record with Phoenix tallying 2.62 goals per game.
The Coyotes ended up missing the playoffs with a total of 51 points in 48 games.
2013-2014
The Coyotes were looking to bounce back this year as they missed the playoffs after their amazing playoff run in 2012.
Ever since the Coyotes acquired Mike Smith, they have relied heavily on him for their success throughout each season. When he’s hot, they’re hot and that’s the same for the 2013-2014 season.
The Winter Olympics happened to fall during February of 2014 so it was unfortunately a short month for NHL hockey, but that didn’t stop Smith.
He went 2-2-1 with an impressive 1.39 goals against average and an astonishing .955 save percentage. But just like the season before, the Coyotes fell a tad short in the playoff race.
2014-2015
We are only a few games in to February 2015 but history is looking to repeat itself.
Mike Smith has had a mediocre season at best with a 3.22 goals against average and a .897 save percentage for a 10-23-5 record up to this point.
Those numbers are surprising to all but Smitty has finally started to shape up to form the past couple of games.
Next: Top Five Coyotes Goaltenders Of All Time
With five games played into February, Smith has posted a 2-2-1 record with impressive wins in Chicago and Columbus. Smith has maintained a 1.56 goals against average and a .953 save percentage up to this point as well.
Will he continue his stellar numbers this February? Only time will tell.