Oilers' Mike Smith: Fails physical, headed for LTIR
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Smith (undisclosed) failed his physical Wednesday and will be placed on long-term injured reserve.
Smith isn't expected to play this year due to an undisclosed injury, and this news all but confirms that will be the case. The 40-year-old netminder has one season remaining on his two-year, $4.4 million contract with the Oilers, and he'll almost certainly announce his retirement ahead of the 2023-24 season. Assuming that comes to fruition and he's unable to play in 2022-23, Smith will finish his career having going 299-263-78 while posting a .912 save percentage and a 2.70 GAA through 670 appearances spread over 16 seasons.
Smith (undisclosed) is unlikely to play in 2022-23, Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic reports.
Smith is apparently dealing with a number of injuries, which are collectively expected to keep him off the ice. Considering he's 40 years old and in the final year of his current contract, this could potentially spell the end of Smith's playing career. The Oilers are expected to roll with Jack Campbell and Stuart Skinner as their top-two goalies in 2022-23. Smith will likely formally be placed on long-term injured reserve at the start of the campaign.
Smith allowed six goals on 42 shots in Monday's 6-5 overtime loss to the Avalanche in Game 4.
Smith wasn't able to shake off his recent struggles, allowing the Avalanche to recover from a two-goal deficit in the third period. In overtime, a high tip led to a rebound that Artturi Lehkonen put in, which ended the Oilers' season in a 4-0 sweep in the Western Conference Finals. Smith allowed at least three goals in each of his last six games in the playoffs, including a pair of six-goal duds. The 40-year-old is under contract with the Oilers for next season after signing a two-year deal last July. He posted a 16-9-2 record with a 2.81 GAA and a .915 save percentage in 28 regular-season contests in an injury-plagued campaign.
Smith will get the starting nod at home versus Colorado in Monday's Game 4, Bob Stauffer of the Oilers Radio Network reports.
Despite giving up 20 goals on 175 shots (.886 save percentage) in his last five outings, Smith remains the starter for the Oilers, which comes as a small surprise considering Mikko Koskinen was solid in relief in Game 1. If Smith can't rediscover his game Monday, the offseason will arrive sooner than hoped for the Oilers.
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Oilers' Mike Smith: Strong effort in loss
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Smith surrendered three goals on 42 shots in Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Avalanche in Game 3. The fourth goal was an empty-netter.
Smith was a key part of the Oilers' penalty kill, successfully preventing the Avalanche from cashing in on their five man-advantage chances. He had a handful of strong saves, but it was his few mistakes that made the difference in this contest, which saw the Oilers fall into an 0-3 hole in the Western Conference Final. Smith's yielded 13 goals in this series, and it's unclear if head coach Jay Woodcroft will stick with the struggling 40-year-old in a must-win Game 4 on Monday or if Mikko Koskinen will get the nod.
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Oilers' Mike Smith: Back in net for Game 3
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Smith will guard the home net Saturday in Game 3 against the Avalanche, per Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic.
Smith allowed 10 goals in the first two games of the series against Colorado's potent offense. The 40-year-old netminder has a .916 save percentage and a 3.19 GAA in the playoffs. Smith will look to bounce back in Game 3 as the Oilers try to overcome a 2-0 series deficit.
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Oilers' Mike Smith: Blitzed in second period
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Smith allowed four goals on 40 shots in a 4-0 loss to the Avalanche in Thursday's Game 2.
Smith turned in a strong first period, making all 15 saves necessary to keep the game scoreless. The Avalanche kept the pressure up in the second period and stung him for three goals in a span of 2:04. He also yielded a power-play goal to Nathan MacKinnon in the third. Smith has now allowed 17 tallies in his last four contests, through three of them have been on the road. He'll look to get back on track with the Western Conference Finals shifting to Edmonton for the next two games.
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Oilers' Mike Smith: In goal for Game 2
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Smith will guard the road goal during Thursday's Game 2 versus the Avalanche.
Smith struggled in Tuesday's Game 1 against Colorado, surrendering six goals on just 25 shots before being replaced by Mikko Koskinen in the second period of the eventual 8-6 loss. He'll try to shake off that poor performance and help the Oilers even up the series at one game apiece by shooting for his ninth win of the postseason Thursday.
Smith allowed six goals on 25 shots in an 8-6 loss to the Avalanche in Game 1.
Smith has not started series very well -- he's given up 13 goals on 70 shots across the Oilers' three series openers this postseason. Mikko Koskinen relieved Smith in this contest, and the Oilers' offense was able to get their starter off the hook despite falling short in the end. Despite the poor Game 1 performance in the last round, Smith was given the nod again in Game 2, though the Avalanche are likely to be much more formidable on offense than the Flames were.
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Oilers' Mike Smith: In goal for Game 1
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Smith will guard the road goal in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals versus the Avalanche on Tuesday, Tony Brar of Oilers TV reports.
Smith will unsurprisingly get the nod to begin this series after eliminating the Flames in five games. He's posted an 8-3 record, a 2.70 GAA and a .927 save percentage in 12 playoff contests. The 40-year-old can expect to face a lot of traffic again versus the Avalanche, who boast one of the deeper offenses in the league.
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Oilers' Mike Smith: Picks up fourth straight win
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Smith stopped 32 of 36 shots in Thursday's 5-4 overtime win over the Flames in Game 5.
The Flames struck first in the first period and showed some jump in the second, but Smith kept them quiet in the third, with a little help from a video review that disallowed a goal by Blake Coleman for a kick. Connor McDavid then struck 5:03 into overtime to seal the series win at 4-1 for the Oilers. Smith will get some valuable rest ahead of the Western Conference Finals, where he'll face the winner of the Avalanche-Blues series.
