Every NHL team’s most iconic moment in franchise history

Arizona Coyotes: Mike Smith Shuts Down The Blackhawks

The Arizona Coyotes haven’t done too much since moving to Arizona. Since arriving in the desert in 1996, they’ve made the Stanley Cup Playoffs eight times in 24 seasons. Seven of those times, the Coyotes were eliminated in the first round. All of that changed during the 2011-12 postseason.

In the first round, the Coyotes drew the Chicago Blackhawks, fresh off a Stanley Cup win in 2010. Though the Coyotes were the Pacific Division champions, they entered their first round series against Chicago as slight underdogs. After all, the Blackhawks were the more experienced team and, despite being in a far more competitive Central Division, had more points (101 to 97).

The Coyotes surprised the Blackhawks by jumping out to a 3-1 series lead. However, the latter returned the favor by beating the former at home 2-1 in overtime in Game 5. This sent the series back to Chicago for Game 6.

That’s when Mike Smith had what might be the greatest game of his career, as he pitched his first postseason shutout to help the Coyotes beat the Blackhawks 4-0, taking them to the second round.

Don’t let that final score fool you – the game was much closer than it suggests. The Blackhawks threw everything they had at Smith, but he was determined to not let any of those 39 shots on goal he faced get past him.

The Coyotes later got past the Nashville Predators in five games in the second round before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings in five games in the Western Conference Final.