Coyotes’ Mike Smith snaps out of funk, eyes strong finish
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSSarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Senators | 0:39
Coyotes insider Sarah McLellan looks at the plus and minus in the 3-2 overtime loss to the Senators.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSSenators rally past Coyotes for overtime win | 1:11
Coach Dave Tippett, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, winger Lawson Crouse and winger Brendan Perlini react to the 3-2 overtime loss.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSCoyotes winger Radim Vrbata reaches 1,000-game milestone | 1:17
Coyotes winger Radim Vrbata is set to play his 1,000th game Thursday against the Senators.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSArizona Coyotes Foundation Golf Tournament 2017 | 1:35
The Arizona Coyotes Foundation held their annual golf tournament for charity at the Whirlwind Golf Club at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Tuesday, March 7, 2017. Players Shane Doan, Max Domi and Brendan Perlini comment.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSSarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Hurricanes | 0:44
Coyotes insider Sarah McLellan looks at the plus and minus in the 2-1 loss to the Hurricanes on Sunday in Glendale.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSHurricanes rally past Coyotes with late third-period goal | 1:08
Coach Dave Tippett, goalie Mike Smith, winger Max Domi and defenseman Jakob Chychrun react to the 2-1 loss on Sunday in Glendale. Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSSarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Hurricanes | 0:34
Coyotes insider Sarah McLellan looks at the plus and minus in the 4-2 win over the Hurricanes.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSCoyotes react to road win over Hurricanes | 1:30
Coach Dave Tippett, captain Shane Doan, center Jordan Martinook and goalie Louis Domingue react to the win.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSSarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Sabres | 0:28
Coyotes insider Sarah McLellan looks at the plus and minus in the 6-3 loss to the Sabres on Thursday.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSCoyotes react to their 6-3 loss to the Sabres | 1:02
Coach Dave Tippett, defenseman Alex Goligoski, winger Tobias Rieder and winger Teemu Pulkkinen react to the loss on Thursday. Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSRadim Vrbata, Shane Doan remain with Coyotes after NHL trade deadline | 1:33
Coyotes General Manager John Chayka, winger Radim Vrbata and captain Shane Doan discuss the two players staying with Arizona.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSSarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Bruins | 0:35
Coyotes insider Sarah McLellan looks at the plus and minus in the 4-1 loss to the Bruins.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSCoyotes react to Burmistrov hit in loss to Bruins | 1:51
Coach Dave Tippett, captain Shane Doan, defenseman Jakob Chychrun and goalie Mike Smith react to center Alexander Burmistrov’s injury in a 4-1 loss to the Bruins. Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSShot Clock: Could they leave? Latest on Coyotes’ arena situation | 1:50
azcentral sports’ Jay Dieffenbach and azcentral’s Craig Harris discuss the latest on the Coyotes’ search for an arena and the Diamondbacks’ feud with the county over Chase Field.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSCoyotes react to Martin Hanzal trade | 1:20
The Coyotes react to the trade that sent center Martin Hanzal and winger Ryan White to the Wild.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSSarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Sabres | 0:36
Coyotes insider Sarah McLellan looks at the plus and minus in the 3-2 win over the Sabres, Feb. 26, 2017. (Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports)
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSCoyotes rally past Sabres in third period | 1:21
Coyotes coach Dave Tippett, winger Radim Vrbata, captain Shane Doan and winger Jamie McGinn react to the 3-2 win, Feb. 26, 2017. (Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports)
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSSarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Stars | 0:34
Coyotes insider Sarah McLellan looks at the plus and minus in the 5-2 loss to the Stars, Feb. 24, 2017. (Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports)
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSStars rally past Coyotes for 5-2 win | 1:10
Coyotes coach Dave Tippett, goalie Louis Domingue, defenseman Alex Goligoski and winger Radim Vrbata react to the loss against the Stars, Feb. 24, 2017. (Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports)
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSSarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Blackhawks | 0:32
Coyotes insider Sarah McLellan looks at the plus and minus in the 6-3 loss to the Blackhawks, Feb. 23, 2017. (Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports)
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSCoyotes react to 6-3 loss to Blackhawks | 0:55
Coyotes coach Dave Tippett, defenseman Jakob Chychrun, winger Ryan White and winger Radim Vrbata react to the 6-3 loss to the Blackhawks, Feb. 23, 2017. (Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports)
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSSarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Ducks | 0:38
Coyotes insider Sarah McLellan looks at the plus and minus in the 3-2 win over the Ducks on Monday.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSCoyotes hold off Ducks for 3-2 win | 0:57
Coach Dave Tippett, goalie Marek Langhamer, winger Radim Vrbata and defenseman Jakob Chychrun react to Monday’s win in Glendale. Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSSarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Sharks | 0:41
Coyotes insider Sarah McLellan looks at the plus and minus in the 4-1 loss to the Sharks.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSCoyotes react to 4-1 loss to Sharks | 0:59
Coyotes coach Dave Tippett, captain Shane Doan, center Martin Hanzal and goalie Mike Smith react to a loss against the Sharks, Feb. 18, 2017. (Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports)
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSSarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Kings | 0:33
Coyotes insider Sarah McLellan looks at the plus and minus in the 5-3 win over the Kings. (Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports)
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSArizona Coyotes hold off Los Angeles Kings in third for 5-3 win | 1:20
Coyotes’ coach Dave Tippett, winger Jordan Martinook, winger Brendan Perlini and goalie Mike Smith react to a win against the Kings, Feb. 16, 2017. (Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports)
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSSarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Oilers | 0:38
Coyotes insider Sarah McLellan looks at the plus and minus in the 5-2 loss to the Oilers.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSOilers overwhelm Coyotes 5-2 | 1:14
Coach Dave Tippett, goalie Louis Domingue, center Martin Hanzal, defenseman Alex Goligoski and defenseman Luke Schenn react to the 5-2 loss. Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSSarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Flames | 0:49
Coyotes insider Sarah McLellan looks at the plus and minus in the 5-0 win over the Flames.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSCoyotes break out in win over Flames | 0:58
Coyotes coach Dave Tippett, goalie Mike Smith, center Christian Dvorak and winger Ryan White talk about the Coyotes’ 5-0 win over the Flames on Monday. Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSSarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Penguins | 0:51
Coyotes insider Sarah McLellan looks at the plus and minus in the 4-3 overtime win over the Penguins.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSCoyotes react to overtime win over the Penguins | 0:53
Coach Dave Tippett, defenseman Connor Murphy, center Martin Hanzal and goalie Mike Smith react to the 4-3 win.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSSidney Crosby closing in on 1,000 career points | 1:02
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is only two points shy of 1,000 for his careee entering Saturday’s game against the Coyotes. Video: Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSHockey phenom from UAE takes the ice with the Capitals | 0:35
The Washington Capitals hosted United Arab Emirates native and hockey phenom Fatima Al Ali. Time_Sports
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSArizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald skates for the first time with Shane Doan | 1:24
Arizona Cardinals’ Larry Fitzgerald skates for the first time with Arizona Coyotes’ Shane Doan. (Rob Schumacher/azcentral sports)
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSCoyotes bring their dads on the road to San Jose | 1:10
For the first time, the Coyotes brought their dads on a road trip.
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSCoyotes goalie Mike Smith on memorable All-Star Game experience | 1:13
Coyotes goalie Mike Smith reflects on his experience at the NHL All-Star Game on Monday. Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports
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WATCH THE LATEST ARIZONA COYOTES VIDEOS FROM AZCENTRAL SPORTSCoyotes captain Shane Doan not ruling out trade possibility | 1:18
Coyotes captain Shane Doan discusses the possibility of seeking a trade this season. Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports
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It’s been almost three weeks – five starts – since Coyotes goalie Mike Smith has celebrated a win, but he hasn’t been playing like he’s stuck in a rut.
Nor does he feel he is.
“I’m out of the funk,” he said.
The drought started when Smith tied a season-high when he gave up six to the Blackhawks Feb. 23. He also wasn’t sharp in his next appearance, getting tagged for four goals on 14 shots by the Bruins through two periods before he was pulled.
But since then, he’s been steady – even if the results haven’t indicated as much.
And this late-season rebound puts Smith in position to accomplish an important goal during the remaining four weeks of the schedule: embarking on the offseason feeling confident about his play.
“I think it’s been one of my more consistent years that I’ve had probably since the first year I got here,” he said. “I just want to continue that throughout the course of the season, continue to build on that game-in, game-out (and) just be solid back there for the group and go into the summer feeling like I was solid all the way through the season. There’s going to be games where it’s not going to go your way but for the most part, I’ve tried to limit those this year. I want to finish that way.”
Smith was critical of his performance after that loss in Boston last week, saying he was in “a little funk” and needed to use practice time to reset after he had surrendered 10 goals on just 43 shots in two games.
“Wasn’t seeing it. Wasn’t feeling it,” he said. “Just felt a little off. It’s going to happen through the course of the season. You try not to let it go on for very long, which I think I’ve done a fairly good job of this year. So I think just trying to work on some things in practice that make you back to being comfortable and when you get in the game, try to simplify a little bit and not worry about anything other than doing your job.”
Despite giving up four goals March 2 in a 6-3 loss to the Sabres, the margin of defeat very well could have been much wider if not for Smith – who battled to keep the Coyotes close. He was on-point again last Sunday against the Hurricanes with the deficit much slimmer (2-1).
And he was solid in the 3-2 overtime loss to the Senators on Thursday.
The game-tying goal came off a scramble in front that had the puck bounce out to a wide-open Erik Karlsson at the back post for an easy shot. In overtime, the Senators broke out for a 2-on-0 rush with Karlsson completing Ottawa’s comeback when he kept the shot – going glove-side on Smith.
“I think there was a time in my career every goal I was mad at,” he said. “I’ve learned how to understand which ones I should have had and not — and kind of try to not let those ones that are uncontrollable affect the way you’re feeling or playing.”
That foresight has come during his time in Arizona; Smith continues to work with a sports psychologist to help with the mental side of the position but hasn’t relied on her as much this season.
“I feel like I’ve had a pretty good handle on what I’ve been doing,” he said.
Recognizing what he can and can’t control hasn’t sapped his competitiveness but has allowed him to evaluate his performance amid a tough season for the team.
“I want to win every game I play in,” he said. “But in reality and where we’re at as a group, that’s going to be hard. Try to not let that affect you mentally and try to not let that affect the way you play.”
This season hasn’t been without its adversity for Smith, who missed about a month early with an MCL sprain in his left knee. At 16-20-7 and with a .913 save percentage and 2.98 goals-against average, his numbers are well below the league leaders but he’s been one of the more consistent contributors on the Coyotes.
And in that sense, Smith has already achieved another ambition for this season – to not be the reason the team has struggled.
“I think there has been those instances in the past that goaltending has been a question,” Smith said. “(Goalie coach Jon Elkin and I) didn’t want to have that excuse this year. We wanted to take care of our job, and we focused on that from the start of the summer last year to the start of camp that we were coming in with our work boots on and controlling things that we can control and putting the work in when the work’s needed and doing the things that it takes as consistently as possible throughout the course of the season. I felt like I’ve done that so far. I want to end it on a good note.”
Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-8276. Follow her at twitter.com/azc_mclellan.
Saturday’s game
Devils at Coyotes
When: 6 p.m.
Where: Gila River Arena.
TV/radio: Fox Sports Arizona-Plus/KTAR-AM (620).
Coyotes update: Center Alexander Burmistrov, who’s missed the past four games with an upper-body injury that looks like a concussion, skated for the first time Friday since getting hurt, but still isn’t ready to return. “I think it was more just getting on the ice, getting skates back on,” coach Dave Tippett said. “I don’t think he’s close.”
Devils update: This is the last stop on a three-game road trip for the Devils, who have lost both games so far. They were blanked 2-0 by the Blue Jackets Tuesday and then fell 3-2 to the Avalanche Thursday. Overall, New Jersey has dropped nine straight. It hasn’t won since Feb. 18 against the Islanders, a 3-2 decision. The team is 12-17-6 on the road. Winger Taylor Hall has a team-high 43 points, while winger Kyle Palmieri leads the group in goals with 20.