Soundwave
Registered User
- Mar 1, 2007
- 72,159
- 27,860
If we the 5 guys play the way they do in front of the goalie, we still make the playoffs with Kosk. The thing is Smith, through his leadership, has helped the team play a much better/more structured defence more consistently.
You're kidding yourself.
You got to see the team with Kosk and as starter for the first 9 games and again in 18-19 ... the results speak for themselves. Koskinen cannot outplay the opposing teams goaltender on a nightly basis and the Oilers are not some tightly structured shut down defensive team (almost no young teams are) to make up for the rest.
Smith makes SAVES. Big ones. At key times. It's not just about huffing and puffing "leadership", you need to back it up on the ice with actual ability, not hot air like losers like Ference brought here.
Not a chance in hell they have the same record without Smith. You can look at other young teams too, Toronto went through that ugly stretch of 6-7 losses in a row when they kept playing an injured Andersen and he couldn't make saves. Snap of a finger a 1st place team looks like garbage just that quick.