Smitty Just Being Smitty
WB Philp | Sep 19, 2009 | Comments 7
Goalie Mike Smith is solid in his return
While I didn’t attend the Bolts tilt versus the Thrashers last night, I watched the tape and did what I’m sure all of the Lightning fans, players and management did…focused solely on returning goalie Mike Smith.
The thing that I have always liked about Smith is that he is not a just a goalie, but an athlete playing goal. Smitty does whatever he has to do to make the save, and he did just that last night in his first action since January 30. He stopped 18 of the 19 shots that the Thrashers threw at him over the first two periods.
In a word he was “solid.”
Smitty was, well, Smitty.
There he was, gloving a wicked wrister, carrying the puck through a maze of players, dropping it and clearing it all the way down the Forum ice on a penalty kill. One of the typical, “No! No!…Yes! Yes!” Mike Smith hair pulling moments we are used to.
The Thrashers only goal came midway through the second on a deflected shot that Smith had no chance on.
What post-concussion syndrome? He showed no effects of the debilitating condition. “I felt all right,” Smith said after the contest. “Obviously, it was a building block. Made some saves, got in the game, got some touches in, which was nice; felt confident doing that.”
If Smitty is right, the Bolts could be a playoff…well, they could be competitive.
By the way, Marty St. Louis won the game with 25 seconds left in overtime.
Lightning two, Thrashers one.
The Bolts begin a six game road trip on Monday in Saskatchewan against the Senators.
Nuts and Bolts
–The Lightning roster was trimmed for the second straight day. Prospects Kevin Quick, Scott Jackson, Chris Lawrence, and Mitch Fadden were assigned to the Admirals. That takes the training camp squad down to 43. I’m sure all will be used in the upcoming epic Lightning road trip.
–Defenseman Matt Walker is improving from a lower body injury and will play in the Bolts next game.
–According to Bolts Prospects, the Lauri Tukonen experiment is over. The Finnish SM-Liiga team Rauma Lukko web site reports that Lightning forward Lauri Tukonen has left training camp early and will be arriving back in Rauma on Saturday in time to participate in team drills on Monday.
–Head coach Rick Tocchet was quoted as saying 2009 first round pick Carter Ashton, “Has shown enough that he could stay. He’s done everything asked of him.” Ashton got his chance last night against theThrashers, but was replaced on the number one line in the second period by Stephane Veilleux. I don’t think Ashton is ready yet and his tentative play last night did nothing to change my mind. The revolving door on Vinny’s wing continues to spin.
–The Norfolk Admirals have announced their 2009 training camp will open Wednesday, September 23 with the Admirals vs. Lightning exhibition game taking place two days later on Friday in Norfolk.
Mike Smith photograph courtesy of Dinur.
Filed Under: NHL Teams • Tampa Bay Lightning
I didn’t happen to catch the game, so thanks for the update! Good to hear Smitty is still being Smitty. It’s going to be a good year if he can keep up the level of play he is capable of, that’s for sure!
Thanks for the comment Mike! I feel that Smith is the key to a competitive season. Last night went a long way towards getting there! Keep reading and commenting!
The article seems a little heavy on the mocking, so I couldn't tell how serious you were being. It's been reported that last offseason three different people were cutting deals with players. And the hiring of Melrose was a disaster, but Koules has admitted that was 100% his fault. I was pretty down on the owners when they had to go to Bettman to get things under control. But since that meeting, Lawton's apparently been in control and the team has taken a clearer direction. It's not only the players Lawton was able to get, but the contracts he signed them too. Getting Tanguay for 2.5 mil for one year – that's low risk/high reward to me. He signed Niitty, Smaby, Vellieux (who could have signed with the sharks for two years), Foster all for around 600K each – he's been spending the money very responsibly. Perhaps he doesn't have a choice, but he's doing it well this year. I've read that since Ohlund was under 35 when he signed his deal, if he retires, it won't count against the cap or something to that effect. The only questionable one in my opinion is giving Walker 1.7 for 4 years, but he's apparently quite tough. The draft was also handled very well, getting two players in the first round, and Panik, our 2nd rounder, tore it up in his first two games at windsor before training camp started. The team is definitely heading in a better direction.
Darn in… everytime I log in and try to comment, the comment box is filled with that old comment. Sorry about that. Here's the comment I actually tried to make:
I went to the game. I was a little disappointing the Lightning didn't dominate the game. The thrashers were mostly playing prospects. It looked like a lot of Lightning shots went high when they had their chances and there was more passing up chances to shoot than normal in an effort to help out some of the new guys to the team. Kurtis Foster looked really strong to me, with his shot and some hits he threw. Hedman has played 27 minutes in both preseason games so far. That's encouraging. St Louis created the turnover that led to the 2 on 0 and then finished it.
Good observation Pat. The Bolts should have dominated the young Thrashers. Question: Where do you sit in the arena (in general) and what do you see and hear from the fans! Thanks again for the comments.
I don't have season tickets. We usually go for the cheaper 3rd lvl seats in the one of the attacking corners. For this preseason game, the crowd liked the Konopka fights even though he got killed both times. Another nearby fan seemed more obsessed with blowing into one of those horns constantly than following the game. And there were the obligatory "Shoot! Shoot!" screams and shouts when Marty or Vinny entered the zone with the puck. And sadly, I couldn't tell for sure, but it almost sounded like we were blaring canned fan noise on the speakers when the jumbotron displayed the decibel meter. But there was a crowd of 16,000 plus at a preseason game, so that was good for the team.
Thanks Pat! I have season tickets and have had for many years in Detroit and here in Tampa. I like to sit in different areas of the rink to get different fan reactions. As a long time USA Hockey coach, I love sitting in the third level to see the play develop. Isn't it hard to listen to those fans that think they "know" hockey when they scream "shoot" every time the Bolts touch the puck? I really have to bite my tongue sometimes. I bet you do too! Thanks again for reading!