Smith Holds Steady in Second Year With Vegas

In his second season with the Vegas Golden Knights, Reilly Smith stayed consistent as he put up the second-best statistical season of his career.
Smith, 28, collected 53 points (19G, 34A) in 74 games and topped the 50-point mark for the second year in a row. His 34 assists and 53 points were the second highest totals of his career in each of those categories. He tied the team-lead in assists with Jonathan Marchessault.
Starting off the season right, Smith netted his 100th career goal at Pittsburgh on Oct. 11. This milestone goal would begin a season of continued success on the ice.

Two nights later, he followed that up with a two-point performance in Buffalo. In November, he hit a hot streak recording a point in five straight games from Nov. 18-24 for eight total points.

After the All-Star Break in January, Smith quickly went back to work and averaged nearly a point-per-game for the second half of the season. He was only one point shy of matching his first half total despite playing in 18 fewer games with 26 points in 27 games.
"Obviously, consistency is the name of the game, it's tough to do in the NHL," Smith said. "It's something I battled with it at certain times in the season but for me it's just trying to keep the same mind set, going every day and trying to get better."
On March 18, Smith had his one of his most dominant nights. He posted a career-high four points (1G, 3A) and matched a career-high three assists against San Jose. Five days later, he appeared in his 500th career NHL game and scored a goal against Detroit which was his third career shorthanded goal and gave him three consecutive seasons with a shorthanded goal.

Smith finished the season with a career-best in takeaways at 67, which put him fourth on the team showing the wide range in his game.
In the playoff series against San Jose, Smith continued his able play recording one goal and five assists. He had a pair of two-point nights as well as a shorthanded assist on a William Karlsson goal. It was a successful season for Smith but he knows it's back to the grind stone for next season.
"The expectations are so high," Smith said. "We want to be able to make the playoffs every single year and we have the make up in this room to do that. I think it'll be a failure if we weren't able to make the playoffs, that's what our goal is for next year."

With three years left on his contract, he still has plenty of room to grow and help the team heading into next season.
"It's great that we have so much depth through our lineup and so many different guys showing up on any given night to help us win," said Smith. "I think that's what made it such a strong team. It's nice to see that we should have a very similar group next year."