Bumpin' this thread, because Mike "Jesus'' Smith is awesome.
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Mike Smith is in the midst of a renaissance season in which the 35-year-old goalie is being feted regularly for carrying the Flames on his back.
On Monday he was named the NHL’s second star of the week for a 3-0 record that has helped the Flames enter their mid-season break on a seven-game winning streak.
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That would be an imposing, poised, reliable, durable and self-assured backstop who has given the Flames what they’ve been missing since Miikka Kiprusoff’s second-last season in 2012: a chance every night.
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“He needed to come to a hockey market and really feel the importance of hockey,” said Burke.
“No disrespect to Arizona – I played there, I love it and I live there — but for a guy like him who is that competitive there comes a time in your career you want to know when you step on the ice it matters. He senses that and he’s taken advantage of it.”
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“It was a no-brainer. He’s an athlete. He’s got four kids too. It matures you. He doesn’t step on the ice any more thinking about his next contract. He steps on and thinks about winning and making his family proud. That’s nice when you get to that point in our career.”
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http://calgaryherald.com/sports/hock...c-eebef7cf586a
Mike Smith plays like a man possessed. He was a controversial acquisition this past summer. Most of us (myself included) figured we needed a goalie who didn't lose us games like had happened in the past, and Smith could
hopefully be that guy. Instead, we get a goalie who is putting on a pretty elite performance all season long. I don't think anybody really thought he'd be this good.
I have no fears watching him get shelled for a bit, a breakaway, or any type of odd man rush. Goals that beat him are usually perfect shots. I can probably count the number of weak goals on 1 hand. It's been so long since I've felt this confident in a Flames' goalie.
Plain and simple, Mike Smith is the man!