Mike Smith senses indifference from Coyotes

These are trying times for Mike Smith.

The All-Star representative for the last-place Arizona Coyotes couldn't veil his frustration after another strong performance in a losing effort on Monday night versus the Edmonton Oilers.

"You feel it in here. There was no life," Smith said after the 3-1 loss. "There was no emotion; you could feel it on the ice. We were just playing. It was blah. It was blah. You can't play like that and expect to compete against a really good hockey team. That's what we did tonight.

"We have to learn from it," he added. "Sooner or later this organization has to move forward."

He added a little later on his scrum: "We've got too many guys that aren't doing enough to push this thing along."

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins beat Smith with the Oilers' second shot of the game, but the Coyotes netminder held his team, stopping the next 16 shots he faced. But as Arizona failed to mount an attack, Edmonton was able to put the game out of reach past the midway mark of the second with goals from Jujhar Khaira and Leon Draisaitl.

"I was trying to hold the fort there as long as I could," Smith said. "Unfortunately, couldn't quite hold them off long enough."

Smith's best moment came just before Edmonton's breakthrough. He made an incredible glove stop on Jordan Eberle, who threw up his stick thinking he had beat Smith's glove on the breakaway.

Though Smith may welcome a trade to a contending team, his contract makes a potential move nearly impossible. He has another two seasons at a $5.67-million cap hit before reaching unrestricted free agency in 2019.