Arizona Coyotes’ Mike Smith stars for Canada in IIHF World Championship
May 18, 2015, 10:30 AM | Updated: 10:50 am
If the Arizona Coyotes are better next season chances are it will be due to an improved Mike Smith.
The 2014-15 campaign was not a great one for the 33-year-old netminder, as he posted a 14-42-5 record with a 3.16 GAA and a save percentage of .904.
However, his play improved considerably in the second half of the season, giving some hope that maybe he had started to turn things around.
Smith’s performance in the 2015 IIHF World Championship offers even more hope, as he led Canada to a gold medal.
Smith appeared in eight of a possible 10 games for Canada, stopping 160 of 172 shots for a save percentage of .930 and a GAA of just 1.50. He also posted two shutouts.
Elsewhere in the tournament, Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson, playing for Sweden, tallied 12 points in eight games, a mark that led all defensemen.