The 40-year-old made 39 saves in a 4-0 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights at Rogers Place, his second consecutive shutout and his sixth straight win. Smith became the sixth goalie in NHL history with back-to-back shutouts at age 40 or older, joining Dominik Hasek (twice), Johnny Bower (twice), Martin Brodeur, Dwayne Roloson and George Hainsworth.
Smith made 30 saves in a 4-0 win against the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
"I've said it numerous times [that] at this time of the season, you want to be on the top of your game and be a big reason why you're headed to the playoffs and in the playoffs and playing your best games to give the team the best chance to win," Smith said. "And that's all I've been focused on. I'm not dwelling on what's happened before or in the past. That's out of my control now, so I've been focused on my next game and really been working hard to get it back on the rails and feel like my last month or so I've been really playing some solid hockey."
Things were not going nearly as well for Smith earlier this season. He was out from Oct. 19-Dec. 29 with a lower-body injury, then was out from Jan. 5-Feb. 8 with a thumb injury. In his first 15 starts, Smith was 5-8-1 with a 3.57 GAA and an .891 save percentage.
But since March 17, Smith is 8-1-1 with a 1.98 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage in 10 games (nine starts), a big reason the Oilers (44-26-6) have surged into second place in the Pacific Division. They are four points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings and seven ahead of the Golden Knights.
Smith's return to health and sharpness couldn't come at a better time for the Oilers, and with the Stanley Cup Playoffs approaching, the buzz is evident.
The Oilers' postgame interviews are conducted in the Hall of Fame room at Rogers Place, and the 15-foot floor-to-ceiling glass windows to 104 Avenue in downtown Edmonton make the media availability viewable to fans who may gather on the street. More than 100 of them were watching from outside Saturday, chanting and cheering every glance from Smith as he answered reporters' questions.
"Amazing," Smith said, nodding at the crowd outside. "The building, to hear it as loud as it's been the last number of games, obviously there's a buzz in the air and this is why you play. You play to play important games that this time of the season and it gets your juices flowing for sure. In a market like this, to have the people, the full building, the people outside obviously and you can feel the buzz in the air, so it's exactly why you want to be a professional athlete, why you want to play at this time of the season and why you want to play important hockey games."
Smith made 13 saves in the first period Saturday when Vegas had good looks. But his best sequence came during the third period. With Edmonton ahead 3-0, he stopped high-quality chances by Jack Eichel, Max Pacioretty and Alex Pietrangelo in quick succession with 9:21 remaining.
"He allowed the team to get its sea legs, and I thought we got better as it went on," Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. "Their team played hard, created some chances and Mike was big when called upon. Two really good [starts] for him in a row. It's not easy, but he's making it look like it is."
Edmonton forward Zack Kassian said Smith's rebound this season shows his mental strength.
"We know what type of goalie he is," Kassian said. "We talk about it at the beginning of the year, how there are going to be ebbs and flows, highs and lows throughout a season, and obviously [Smith] has dealt with some injuries. But he has put in a lot of work behind closed doors and has got himself ready where he is playing big games for us right now."
