Bolts' Smith Proving His Net Worth

Mike Smith slammed his stick and glove to the ice in frustration and pain. The Lightning goaltender had just taken a puck off the top of his knee that took him out of the crease for a few rotations during practice at Lakeshore Arena in suburban Toronto.

Considering the number of pucks Smith has seen this season, it's a wonder an errant shot didn't find the same sliver of unprotected area underneath his padding before.

Though the hockey season still is in the first leg of a marathon course, Smith has proven to be the reliable goaltender the team believed it acquired from Dallas at the trade deadline last season, and the goalie they signed to a two-year contract extension over the summer despite never having been a No. 1 goaltender.

"From training camp, he's been like this - he hasn't played a bad game yet," Lightning coach Barry Melrose said.

The numbers back that up as Smith enters tonight's game against the Sabres with a save percentage of .942 in six starts, second best in the league behind Boston's Tim Thomas, who is coming off consecutive shutouts. Smith also ranks seventh with a 2.11 goals-against average and has earned Tampa Bay at least a point in four of his six starts.

"You don't want to get too high or too low, but things are feeling good on the ice and in practice," Smith said. "That's all I can do is go out there and do my thing and hopefully do my thing and give the team a chance to win every night.

"So far I think I've done that for the most part."

Smith hasn't been shortchanged in his workload, either, as he has faced 225 shots in six starts, an average of 37.5 per game.

"It happens, but it seems to be getting into a habit where it is a shooting gallery out there a bit," Smith joked of the number of pucks he has faced. "But I guess that's my job, to stop pucks, so I can't really complain."