Bridgestone Arena Erupts: The Craig Smith Story
On February 13th the New York Islanders pulled into Nashville for a Thursday night game against the home team. They left Nashville feeling like they were hit by a truck. That truck’s name is Craig Smith.
More from Predlines
- Nashville Predators 2023 Training Camp Spotlight: Kiefer Sherwood
- Captain Candidates if Nashville Predators Didn’t Have Roman Josi
- The All-Time 25 Games or Less Nashville Predators Lineup
- Nashville Predators 2023 Training Camp Spotlight: Cody Glass
- Joakim Kemell Flashes his Offense in Nashville Predators Loss to Tampa
In the 5-0 Predators win, Smith achieved his first career hat trick. He opened the scoring by bouncing the puck off of the Islander’s goaltender and into the net just 35 seconds into regulation.
Smith scored another goal at 12:19 in the first. He then went on to score his third goal in the second period completing the hat trick.
Many hats were given up by fans that night. Smith was even hunting hard for that fourth goal of the game and made the most of his ice time that night with under 13 minutes of playing time.
Smith always plays with an intensity that’s infectious for both teammates and fans alike. This was as the Predators need a fire lit under them as they were trying to climb back into the playoff race.