Quote:
Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache
Glad that he is performing well, and gaining confidence.
The numbers are good, but the lunging and belly flops are still concerning. He seems to be making big saves at times and then having trouble tracking the puck and rebounds at others.
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I agree with most of that post, but this in particular, I have been paying special attention to the tracking after making a save, after being hit with a puck, and it's often not good, like he has NO idea where it is. Watching other NHL goalies for this, and it for sure happens to all of them, the puck is moving very fast and it can carom around and be gone, and goalies tend not to move much just in case it's stuck under them. But Smith genuinely seems to lose it after the first save pretty often, luckily the D-men are pretty good about getting control. I also think he's very slow to get back on his feet after the forward flop. So style-wise, I'm giving Smith about a 3/10 but he does seem to be stopping the puck, and in a sense, that's all that matters.