Mike Smith Game Evaluation 12/8/2011 Vs. Detroit Red Wings

Mike Smith vs. Detroit Redwings 12/8/2011

     With the recent ankle surgery I have had more than a couple of nights at home instead of at the rink. Trying not to go stir-crazy, I decided to do a game evaluation during a recent Redwings game on Mike Smith. Mike Smith has had a great few weeks leading up to this game. He was in Dallas for a period of time playing behind Marty Turco, and right away you can see he plays a very passive-aggressive style. Mike likes to play well inside the crease and in most cases, inside the posts. Standing 6’4” Mike has the ability to play such a conservative style. Let’s go through the goals of the game:

1.) The first goal happened off of a defensive zone turnover. Todd Bertuzzi was the beneficiary of a pass to the slot after the break down. The shot was taken in the low slot, and with a possible deflection, the puck entered the net through Mike’s 5-hole. Smith, in this situation, was typically deep in the net just in front of the goal line. The shot seemed to catch him off guard even though he had adequate time to see the play develop.

2.) The second goal was the result of an in-tight shot directly off of a pass on the blocker side. The play started in the opposite corner; a Redwing’s player took the puck behind the net for the in-tight pass which went again through Smith’s 5-hole. Here, Mike chose to move post-to-post in a post leg down maneuver. Through this whole play, Mike became too puck-focused. He lost sight of the potential threat of a pass and made the play as if it were a simple wrap around. This post leg down locked him into the post making him vulnerable to the pass and shot at hand.

3.) The third goal was the result of a rebound on a Redwing’s power play. The puck was moved to the outer portion of the slot where it was walked into the slot for a low shot. Smith became overactive on the passing and had to make the initial save in desperation mode. Goalies in desperation mode tend to lack not only positional control, but rebound control as well. The puck was sent into a square rebound position and was hammered home through Smith’s 5-hole as he was falling back.

4.) The fourth goal was, yet again, another 5-hole goal. The fourth goal was almost an exact replica of goal number two, but from the opposite side. The play was an in-tight shot directly off the pass from the glove side. Smith chose a VH drive this time instead of the post leg down. If Mike held his ground technically in the VH drive, he would have made the save. However, Mike lost patience and started leaning away from the post. This lean opened up his legs, giving the puck access through.

After allowing four goals in the first period, Smith was pulled. Although every goal was a 5-hole breakdown, they were the result of a complete breakdown on all sides of the puck. It seemed like the whole Phoenix team left their game at home. Mike didn’t seem to be ready to play that game, nor did the rest of the team. Smith seemed overly patient, overly deep, and lacked intelligent anticipation skills. All-in-all, Mike has a well-rounded blocking style of goalie. He possesses the ability to scramble and react when the time calls for it. He has superb puck handling skills that, no doubt, are related to playing with Marty Turco. His playing style will make him vulnerable to post position plays, as well as high corner shots. This game can be summarized as a simple full team breakdown.

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