CALGARY — Amidst ear-splitting chants of his name he certainly hadn’t heard all year long, Mike Smith skated off the Saddledome ice Saturday night being feted as the game’s first star.
He’d just made 26 saves in 4-0 win to stake the Flames to a 1-0 series lead over Colorado that marked his first playoff win in seven years.
The irony was rich as many of the folks screaming his name were singing a radically different tune earlier in the year when Smith was the recipient of Bronx cheers and even boos.
“It felt a lot better than the other,” smiled Smith of the chants that will forever dot memories of his magical night.
“Honestly, I haven’t quite heard anything like that before in my career and it kind of gives you some confidence, obviously, when you’re hearing your name getting chanted. I haven’t quite experienced what I experienced tonight throughout my 13 years in this league. I’ve been through a lot, but tonight was something I’ll add to the list.”
It was Calgary’s first post-season win in four years, and the largely inexperienced group did it on the power of its depth players, a possessed Matthew Tkachuk and, of course, the 37-year-old netminder.
In a fast-paced, hard-hitting game of tremendous playoff hockey, Smith first drew sporadic chants of “Smit-ty, Smit-ty” midway through the first period before penalty-killing glove saves on Gabe Landeskog and Derick Brassard prompted a raucous C of Red crowd to chant it in unison.
By night’s end, he’d had a half-dozen significant trapper snares including another on Landeskog and a show-stopper on Nathan MacKinnon in the final 10 minutes that brought the crowd to its feet.
The accolades came mere hours after he was named the starter following Thursday morning’s pre-game skate.
Coach Bill Peters said the highly-anticipated yet unpopular decision had plenty to do with Smith’s solid play the last few months and the fact he had experience as the man chiefly responsible for carrying Phoenix to the west final in 2012.
It paid off.
“I’m at my best when I’m playing with a little bit of an edge and a little swagger,” said Smith, who split time with David Rittich this season.
“It’s important especially for a goalie to have that confidence and once you have it you want to make sure you don’t get too high. It feels good. It was special — something I’ll probably never forget. That’s a big win for our team — a big confidence booster. But we understand there’s a long ways to go.”
Feeding off a crowd unsure how the Flames would react to entering the playoffs as west champions and heavy favourites over the Avalanche, the Flames opened the night hitting everything that moved, which was a stirring sight given the club finished last in the league in hits this season.
Leading the charge was Tkachuk before penalty trouble shifted the early momentum and required Smith to be at his best.
It was wasn’t until mid-game the Flames started pressuring Philipp Grubauer before Andrew Mangiapane scored in his first NHL playoff game — the sixth Flames rookie to do so in franchise lore. Showing tremendous patience as he skated in front of the net, Mangiapane fell to one knee with a defenceman draped all over him before sending a backhand along the ice past a sprawling Grubauer with five minutes left in the second.
Minutes later Mangiapane’s fellow fourth-liner, Garnet Hathaway, was tackled as he sent a rebound off the crossbar, setting up a power play Tkachuk cashed in on seconds later.
With 62 seconds left in the frame Tkachuk’s redirection of a Mark Giordano point blast beat Grubauer, who argued his ability to re-set for the shot was impeded moments earlier when his stick was caught briefly in Tkachuk’s jersey. It was a weak argument and the goal was allowed to stand, setting up a tense third in which Smith shone repeatedly before Mikael Backlund’s power-play goal in the final three minutes sealed the deal.
Tkachuk’s empty netter 14 seconds later set a team playoff record and capped a monster evening from the third-year pro who had two goals, four hits and drew a penalty in his first NHL playoff win.
Smith’s popularity hit new heights when he assisted on Tkachuk’s second goal — a delicious twist given how hard fans have been on Smith all year for his rough start and penchant for playing the puck.
“They’ve probably been a little upset at me for a couple mistakes I’ve made back there,” laughed Smith, who had never fully gained the confidence of most locals following a shaky start to the year — until Thursday night.
“That was a cool moment. Chucky made a great play. I’m not back there to get assists by any means, but it’s nice to make good plays.”
For what it’s worth, teams that win Game 1 via shutout have won nine consecutive playoff series.
Game 2 goes Saturday night in Calgary at 8:30 p.m. MT.
Smith, um, is the likely starter.
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