Smith played well enough to beat Edmonton on Wednesday, giving up four goals on 27 shots in a 7-4 victory. Smith has been lackluster in just two starts so far this season -- allowing 10 goals on 54 shots -- but it was nice to see him grab the W. He should be a workhorse again in 2014-15 for the Desert Dogs, but wins could be hard to come by with a lack of offensive firepower in front of him.

Smith will be in goal Wednesday against the Oilers, Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic reports. Smith was surprisingly bypassed for Saturday's start against the Kings in favor of backup Devan Dubnyk, but only because coach Mike Tippett wanted to give his No. 2 netminder an early-season opportunity to get his feet wet. With that out of the way, Smith now looks primed to see a large stretch of starts. Smith's expected large workload this season could allow him to finish among the league leaders in saves, but he's unlikely to deliver strong ratios to accompany his counting stats.

Smith will not start Saturday against the Kings, after coach Dave Tippett surprisingly announced Devan Dubnyk as the game's starter, Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic reports. Though the Coyotes didn't initially announce a starting goalie for Saturday after their morning skate, it was generally expected that Smith would get the nod, after he had a full day of rest since his last game. However, coach Dave Tippett previously pledged to get backup Devan Dubnyk some action in one of the team's first four games, and it appears Saturday will be his landing spot. Smith wanted to get some extra practice in anyway after allowing six goals in the opener, so perhaps the added rest will do him some good. Look for Smith to return to the net in the Coyotes' next game, set for Wednesday at home versus Edmonton.

Smith is expected to make the start in goal Saturday against the Kings. Smith will be looking to rebound from a horrid performance in Thursday's opener, as the Jets pummeled him for six goals on 27 shots. Assuming he's announced as the starter, Smith could have difficulty outplaying Jonathan Quick, who will start in goal for the opposition.

Smith allowed six goals on just 27 shots Thursday in the Coyotes' season-opening loss to Winnipeg. Smith said he was never comfortable in the game and it showed. He is Arizona's clear top goaltender and will look to shake it off for their next game Saturday against the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles.

Smith will be in the crease Thursday against the Jets, Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic reports. Signed to a six-year, $34 million contract last June, Smith probably didn't meet the team's expectations in his first season under the long-term deal, as his 27-21-10 record and .915 save percentage prior to suffering a season-ending injury weren't quite good enough to push the Coyotes to the playoffs. With Arizona electing not to make any sweeping changes to its average offense over the summer, it looks like the pressure will lie squarely on Smith if the Coyotes hope to return to the Western Conference Finals, a feat they accomplished in 2012.

Smith stopped 31 of 33 shots he faced Friday in a preseason loss to San Jose. Smith is healthy and looks to be ready to go for the regular season. He will carry a big load as usual for Arizona as he tries to improve on a mediocre 2013-14.

Smith stopped 23 of 25 shots he faced in a pre-season win over the Canucks on Monday. He played all 60 minutes in the victory. Smith appears to be fully recovered from an MCL injury suffered late last season. He is one of the keys to the Coyotes making it back to the playoffs after two straight years falling short.

Mike Smith is confident that he can rebound after an up-and-down season. Smith ended up with a 2.64 GAA and .915 save percentage in 62 games this season. "I think I learned a lot about myself this year going through that again," Smith said. "To have success and then to be able to keep that was a challenge, and I think I found a way out of it this year and obviously I'll learn from that and be a better goalie because of it." He comes with an average annual cap hit of $5,666,667 through 2018-19.

Mike Smith sustained an MCL sprain to his right knee back on March 24 that sidelined him for the last 10 games of the regular season. He was initially projected to be out of action for two to four weeks, so he should get clearance shortly. Unfortunately, his injury came at a bad time for the Coyotes, as they were battling for a playoff spot down the stretch and came up just short of earning the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.