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Mike Smith had an ‘awful’ night for the Coyotes

Canucks Coyotes Hockey

Arizona Coyotes goalie Mike Smith (41) gets pulled in favor of goalie Louis Domingue (35) as left wing Jamie McGinn (88) watches during the second period of the team’s NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

AP

Mike Smith made only his fifth start of the season last night for the Arizona Coyotes, and things did not go well.

The Coyotes lost, 4-1, to the visitors from Vancouver. Afterwards, Smith delivered a frank assessment of his performance.

“It was awful,” he told reporters. “It was sleeping right from the first goal, and right through on. It was not even close. We did a lot of good things, I thought, in front of me and didn’t get rewarded for it tonight. But a lot of that comes solely on my shoulders tonight.”

The first goal Smith surrendered came off a careless turnover by Oliver Ekman-Larsson, pounced on by Bo Horvat, who quickly fed Sven Baertschi for the tap-in:

“Instead of making a big save there, you let one in that you were sleeping on a little bit,” said Smith. “From there on in, it was obvious that I wasn’t feeling it tonight. It’s no excuse. You have to get the job done.”

The Coyotes ended up outshooting the Canucks, 36-27, but the real difference was goaltending. In Vancouver’s net was Ryan Miller, who turned in his finest performance of the month and was named the game’s third star.

As for Smith, well, this was the fourth and final goal he allowed, right before he got the hook:

With the loss, the 34-year-old Smith fell to 2-1-1 with a .904 save percentage.

The Coyotes host Connor McDavid and the Oilers tomorrow. Louis Domingue is the other Arizona goalie. He’s 4-8-0 with the same .904 save percentage as Smith’s.

Pick your poison, Dave Tippett.

Related: For better or worse, the Coyotes are ‘married’ to Smith