FEATURE: More Than A Feeling

EDMONTON, AB - Six months before concerns over the coronavirus outbreak paused the NHL schedule, pushing players and fans alike into social isolation, goaltender Mike Smith received an unwanted trial to life in quarantine.
Illness for the then-37-year-old netminder, who turned 38 last month, pushed his arrival at Oilers Training Camp back more than a week to a team trip to Kelowna, BC, after being sequestered at home instead of being able to put in initial preparations for his 14th NHL season with his new teammates.
"At first I thought it was just the flu, but it turned out to be a little bit worse than that," Smith said at Prospera Place in September. "I've honestly never been that sick in my whole life. I'm definitely not someone to be down and out for four, five or six days, and to not be able to move for three or four days and stuck in bed with four kids at home is not the most ideal situation."
For a netminder who relies on preparation and a positive feeling about his game, it was not the favourable start to his Oilers tenure.

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The Kingston, Ontario product had spent his off-season rigorously preparing to fill out a goaltending tandem with Mikko Koskinen, channelling the same desire that helped earn him his first NHL gig as a backup to Marty Turco back in 2006 with the Dallas Stars.
Head Coach Dave Tippett had a familiar face in Smith from their seven seasons together in Arizona, with hopes of riding the hot glove and having the two goalies split time down the middle to limit fatigue.
"I told them both that I hope they each play 41 games well," Tippett said. "If they do that, we'll be fine. I think we have the ability to make sure that whenever they play, they're rested mentally and physically.
"I'm all for, if one guy gets hot, to let him go for a little bit. But we're going to have two goalies that we feel very comfortable with."
The drive to perform pushed Smith towards making the decision to travel north on Highway 2 from Calgary to Oil Country after the Oilers were one of his first suitors on July 1 inquiring about his services.
"Mike Smith has had a great career," Oilers General Manager and President of Hockey Operations Ken Holland said. "He's an older guy but he's motivated. He's hungry, he's in great shape. He's been a guy that prides himself on being in tremendous shape throughout his career.
"Those types of players can defy Father Time a little bit longer than the players that aren't as committed in the gym and in their decisions with what they eat. He's a competitive guy."
Father Time wasn't going to give Smith back those lost hours at Training Camp that could've been spent helping his new defencemen adjust to his puck-playing tendencies - a skill that's evolved from when he first understood its impact on winning from Turco in Dallas.
"I've kind of taken it to the next level," Smith said. "I really believe it's a big part of my game and a big part of helping the team out and D out. It definitely has some positive parts to it and hopefully I can do whatever I can to help the group back there."
From the moment Smith took to the ice for that first skate at Training Camp, players felt his ability to seek outlet passes from the crease was a definite advantage.
"It's kind of always six against five," forward Leon Draisaitl said. "You feel like you're always running late. You're always that one step behind where it goes bang, bang and out. It's nice to be on that side for once and hopefully, he's going to give us some nice breakouts."

Draisaitl would extend his arm out in acknowledgement of his netminder on October 30 in Columbus after Smith picked out the perfect 100-foot pass that led to James Neal potting the opening power-play goal for the Oilers.
Three nights later, Smith proved he could win games for the Oilers without the puck on his stick with a dominating 52-save performance in a 2-1 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins - a game that opened with the late Colby Cave's final NHL goal.
It'd be the high point of an underwhelming run to the end of the calendar year for Smith, who'd post a .828 save percentage in December as his performance coincided with a 5-8-1 record for the Oilers in the final month of the decade.
The veteran goaltender stayed the course, however, working his way through the down spell to rediscover that feeling of comfort in the crease.
"It's always a mental grind at some point in the season. There are ups and downs," Smith said. "It's just finding your way through those difficult times and when things are going well, you want to ride that as long as you can and play as consistent as possible.
"It's just about getting back in the net and feeling good about where your game is at," he continued.
From the beginning of the new year, Smith and the Oilers were a force to be reckoned with.

He started four of the five contests of a five-game road trip in early January, earning the Oilers a point against the Buffalo Sabres and posting 36-save victories over the powerhouse Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs. An 11-1-4 record in 16 games to begin 2020 put his previous cold spell in the rearview mirror, as both the netminder and the club were finding a rhythm.
"There's no special recipe. It's a number of things including the team playing more of a team game," Smith said. "Obviously, goaltending is a big part of that but they're doing a lot of good things in front of the goaltenders right now which is, in turn, probably a big reason we've had the success of late."
To Smith, all the painstaking hours training and the adversity felt during the season prepare you to play your best hockey at the business end of the season. That positive feeling about the team, and players' individual games, were starting to take shape in the Oilers locker room at the right time.
Smith turned that positivity dial to '10' for his teammates and Oil Country after dropping the glove and blocker at centre ice with Cam Talbot in a spirited 8-3 win in the Battle of Alberta at the beginning of February. To the netminder, the contest embodied everything desirable about playing meaningful games in the season's second half.

"Those are fun games to play in," Smith said. "Not with all the fighting and stuff, obviously, that's part of it, but just high-intensity hockey. Especially the end of January, early February, you're playing important games. Those are important points for our team. Our guys battled hard. We were relentless."
Smith, with the leadership he provides on and off the ice out of necessity as a veteran in the locker room, summarized the rallying cry felt after the provincial feat of strength.
"There was a good feeling in here after this game, I'll just put it that way," he said. "There was a really good feeling after this game. The energy was probably unlike what we've seen this year from our group, and that can only make our group stronger in here and better as a team."
Through thick and thin this '19-20 NHL season, Smith has maintained his composure to put the Oilers and himself in the best position possible to play meaningful hockey in the campaign's final months.
A chance at cashing in on their rightfully-deserved shot at the Stanley Cup in the playoffs, and their return to that winning feeling, can't come soon enough.