Mike Smith Back In Net Against Tampa Bay
Mike Smith gets a shot at redemption against the Tampa Bay Lightning
So the Tampa Bay Lightning are kind of good, and Mike Smith is kind of struggling.
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Ben Bishop has consistently been one of the most reliable goaltenders in the NHL, and his backup — Andrei Vasilevskiy — has what it takes to fill in for him when need be.
The Lightning barely need better than competent goaltending, though — they’re icing one of the most powerful rosters in the NHL. They’ve got Steven Stamkos, who has developed into one of the true elite top-line centers in the league. They’ve got Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov, who are unfairly underrated by fans of Western Conference teams. They’ve got Ondrej Palat, who’s on pace for an elite season as a twenty-three year old… and that’s just looking at the big names.
In contrast, though, the Arizona Coyotes are finally well-rested, and they’ve got a group of young guys hungry for success. Shane Doan talked about the pride of veterans, and hopefully it appealed to their senses; this is a team that deserves to be meeting with relative success, and a close game against the Tampa Bay Lightning is the perfect way to prove that.
Five Players to Watch:
1. ONDREJ PALAT
Palat is having a fantastic season with the Lightning; in addition to being fourth in the league in plus-minus (to be taken with a grain of salt, but still commemorated), he’s sitting on twelve goals and thirty-two assists this season. He’s shaping up to be a long-term contributor for the Lightning — although it seems like we’ve seen his name for a while, he’s still young enough that he could still get even better.
For Coyotes fans, this is a guy to keep an eye on; he’s got the elite-level talent as a young guy that Mikkel Boedker should be showing, and proves that Arizona needs at least one more offensive star to truly center and further their team.
2. MARK ARCOBELLO
He’s got two goals in his first three games with the Coyotes — and although he’s not likely to finish the season with twenty more goals, there’s a strong chance that Mark Arcobello is trying to make a case for his permanence in the desert.
The Coyotes could be mixing up the lines tonight, so keep an eye out to see where he goes. He looked especially fast centering Sam Gagner and Tobias Rieder, but the team could use him as an offensive spark for players that are going a bit slower — such as David Moss or even veteran Shane Doan.
3. MIKE SMITH
This truly hasn’t been Mike Smith‘s season — he’s on pace finish below a .900 SV%, making him the worst number one starter in the NHL.
It’s an off year, and every netminder has one — but unless his team inspires some confidence in his game, fans won’t see any consistency (or improvement, for that matter) in net before April. At the moment, Smith is the only netminder who still gets worse as the game goes on currently in the Coyotes system; keep your eyes on his end of the ice to see if he’s able to fix that moving forward. If he can play a solid third period, the team could begin to win some games again.
4. CEDRIC PAQUETTE
This season’s biggest surprise (at least, to me) in Tampa Bay has been twenty-one year old Cedric Paquette; the fourth round draft pick has twelve goals and six assists in his first forty-eight games of the year. He’s not afraid to stick up for himself (see his almost fight with Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara for reaffirmation of this) and he’s developing hockey sense that many don’t see in players his age.
He’s the Tobias Rieder of the Lightning, and we all love watching Speeder Rieder — so if you want to see an exciting game, keep an eye out for number thirteen.
5. BRANDON GORMLEY
He was sent down to the AHL following a pretty lengthy injury to get some more playing time, then was sent down again for the All Star Break. This enraged plenty of fans, but it made sense; while a player is still waiver exempt, a lost season is best utilized developing blue liners in the minors. Most defensemen don’t truly develop until they’re twenty-four or twenty-five, so giving Gormley a chance to grow into the best player he can be is the smartest way to handle him right now.
With veteran Zbynek Michalek out for an upper-body injury, though, Gormley is getting another shot — and we’ve seen him play his best when his roster spot is on the line. Once Michalek is back, it will be up to the coaches to decide whether they want to reassign Gormley or Andrew Campbell to the Portland Pirates again; expect to see exciting hockey when this former first round pick is on the ice.
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