Arizona Coyotes Throwback: Mike Smith Scores NHL Goal

On October 19, 2013; Mike Smith Made History By Becoming The 11th Goaltender To Score An NHL Goal.

Mike Smith of the Arizona Coyotes had no idea that this game against the Detroit Red Wings would be one that he would remember forever. The Detroit Red Wings moved to the Eastern Conference at the beginning of the 2013 season. This meant that the Arizona Coyotes would not play them as much, as they were accustomed to during the season.

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These opponents are not strangers to each other either. The Arizona Coyotes and Detroit Red Wings have faced each other in the first round of the playoffs three times. Most recently, the two teams squared off two years in a row (2010 and 2011). Fans have grown tired of this team from Michigan, as it was the same old story when they both met. Arizona would claw their way to the postseason, only to be eliminated by Detroit in the first round.

This game carried much of the same weight as it did years ago. The October 19th meeting would be the second and final time the Arizona Coyotes and Detroit Red Wings would meet in 2013. The two played on October 10th in Detroit, with the Coyotes coming out on top. The 4-2 win at Joe Louis Arena provided much needed momentum for the Arizona Coyotes team.

Before we dive in to Mike Smith’s first NHL goal, we would like to go back in time a bit.

Not many people know that Mike Smith has scored a goal before. Not at the NHL level, but a goal nonetheless. You will have to go back a decade to October 26, 2002. A young Mike Smith was eager to start his career in hopes of reaching the National Hockey League stage.

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He suited up for his first professional game as a member of the ECHL’s Lexington Men O’ War (the affiliate of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim). The 20 year old Smith put up a phenomenal performance in his first start against the Dayton Bombers. The game ended in a 2-0 win for the Men O’ War. Smith shutout his opponent in his first professional start, but that was not the highlight of this game.

Dayton pulled their goaltender when the game was, 1-0 in hopes of sending in to over time. Dayton dumped the puck deep into the zone to have Mike Smith circle behind the net to play it. His play-making abilities 13 years ago mimic his style today. Smith controlled the puck, and threw it down the ice for the second and final goal of the game.

“He ices the game, not only does he make saves, he scores goals too. Mike Smith the rookie goaltender.”

The play-by-play analyst praised the new goaltender for accomplishing this historical feat. Mike Smith became the sixth ECHL goaltender to score a goal.

Mike Smith has almost scored a goal as a member of the Arizona Coyotes back in 2012. In fact, it was during the 2012 playoff series against the Nashville Predators. The Arizona Coyotes shocked the world as they made it to the Western Conference Semi-Final game. The Desert Dogs were going to face a tough competitor in the Nashville Predators. This was a team that many people favored to win the Stanley Cup back in October.

Nobody picked Arizona to defeat Nashville in this series. Nobody favored the Pacific Division Champions to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks in the round before either. The Coyotes were on a mission to prove everyone wrong, and continued to do so with their performance against the Predators.

Riding the back of Mike Smith, the Arizona Coyotes looked to move on to the Western Conference Final. With a commanding 3-1 series lead, the Coyotes were going to eliminate the Predators in front of an electric Arizona crowd in game five.

The Arizona Coyotes were leading the fifth game of the series 2-1, as the third period began to expire. The Nashville Predators sent Pekka Rinne to the bench for the extra attacker. The clock ticked down to the final seconds, as the Coyotes were going to win the series and move on.

Nashville fires the puck towards Mike Smith to generate one final offensive effort. Smith traps the puck down with his glove, and fires towards the empty net in an effort to finally end the game.

The White-Out gasped as the puck flew high across the ice. The puck bounced past the blue line, and begins to roll towards the wide open net. As the puck slid closer, it would be realized that Smith had missed. The puck rolled past the post, inches from becoming a goal.

Mike Smith was determined to get his first NHL goal:

October 19, 2013: Detroit Red Wings @ Arizona Coyotes:

The Arizona Coyotes found themselves in a hole early in this match-up with the Detroit Red Wings. A pair of goals by Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi gave the opponents the early lead at the end of the first period. In true Coyotes fashion, Arizona began to claw their way back into this game. Antoine Vermette ignited the offense with the lone goal in the second period. The scoring would not stop there, as he would get more help in the third. Two goals by Mike Ribeiro, and a single goal by Martin Hanzal in the final period, would seal the deal for the Coyotes. It seemed like another 4-2 victory for the Arizona Coyotes.

Feb 13, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes goalie Mike Smith (41) looks on prior to the game against the San Jose Sharks at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

To everyone’s surprise, there was one last goal to be scored. The Detroit Red Wings pulled their goaltender, as time began to expire. A fifth goal for the Arizona Coyotes was possible, but hard to believe due to Detroit’s amazing puck possession. While fans were content with the victory already, Mike Smith was not. He wanted one more goal for his team.

Detroit shot the puck towards Smith who caught it with his glove. He set it back down on the ice, and lines up his shot. Smith saw an open lane towards the goal and fired it down. The shot looked dead-set on making it across the goal line, but time was not on Smith’s side. The puck was fired with 4.0 seconds left on the clock, as everyone in the arena held their breath. The clock ticked closer to zero, as the puck made it into the net. Video review would conclude that it would be a good goal; with 0.1 seconds left on the clock!

Mike Smith did it.

In the most dramatic fashion, Mike Smith became the eleventh goaltender in National Hockey League history to score an NHL goal.

“I do shoot the puck quite often in practice, but an awful lot of things have to go right for that to happen. I was able to score in the ECHL (for Lexington) my first year as a pro (in 2002-03) and it was the same thing. Everything has to work right and the clock has to slow down at the right time to let it trickle over the line. It was just a bonus to a great win.” – Mike Smith of the Arizona Coyotes, 10/19/13

Congrats Smitty!

Apr 7, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Arizona Coyotes goalie Mike Smith (41) guards his net during the warmup period against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

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