The 39-year-old goalie will try to make the most of his chance this time around as the likely starter for the Edmonton Oilers when they play the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup First Round at Rogers Place on Wednesday (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS).
"Opportunity]*
It's arguably the second-best season Smith has had in the NHL, behind 2011-12, when he was 38-18-10 with a 2.21 GAA, .930 save percentage and eight shutouts with the Phoenix Coyotes.
That season, Smith helped the Coyotes advanced to the Western Conference Final before losing in five games to the Los Angeles Kings. It's the only time in his NHL career he was the No. 1 goalie on a team that won a playoff series.
Smith had the chance to change that last season for the Oilers, who entered the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers as the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference. However, in Game 1 against the No. 12 seed Chicago Blackhawks, Smith lasted just 26:32, allowing five goals on 23 shots in a 6-4 loss.
Mikko Koskinen would start the next three games for Edmonton, which was eliminated in four games.
On Monday, Smith bristled at the suggestion that his past disappointment was deemed relevant to the upcoming series against Winnipeg.
"To be honest, I'm not concerned on how this is going to go," Smith said. "I'm not comparing it at all to last year's situation. Last year was a layoff and then we got back and it was such a unique situation.
"Like I said, probably one I didn't handle very well, but you learn from those situations over the course of your career and you want to get better because of it, and I feel like our team and myself are in a lot better place than we were going into the bubble. It's a new year and a new playoff season, and I'm excited about the opportunity."
Oilers coach Dave Tippett isn't concerned either.
Tippett knows Smith like few others. He coached Smith during his first two NHL seasons with the Dallas Stars from 2006-08, again with the Coyotes from 2011-17, and now in Edmonton for the past two seasons.
"He's a phenomenal athlete," Tippett said. "He's still driven to play well. He's ultra-competitive. He's had a great year and I expect him to play well in the playoffs."
Heading into his fifth appearance in the postseason, Smith, who is 11-13 with a 2.33 GAA, .934 save percentage and four shutouts in 25 playoff games, said he knows exactly what the recipe for success will be this time.
"Goaltending is a huge aspect of why your team will have success, but in saying that, I'm not putting any extra pressure on myself to steal games," Smith said. "I'm just going to do what I have done all season long, and that's just be a real solid player back there for us and, hopefully, that's enough to get us where we want to go."
