ANAHEIM, Calif. — Brendan Smith was angry and befuddled heading into the Rangers’ 6-3 loss to the Ducks on Tuesday night.
The edgy defenseman had taken a bad penalty and got into a fight that set the tone for a hellish second period Sunday night en route to a 4-2 loss to the Kings in Los Angeles. But just before that, Smith had been nailed with a high hit from Kings forward Kyle Clifford that drew only a two-minute minor for charging.
And that is what was still bothering Smith as he prepared to face the Ducks at Honda Center in the third leg of the Rangers’ four-game trip.
“I’m still shocked that nothing has happened,” Smith told The Post. “I think those kind of hits are what we’re trying to get out of the game. That’s what we’ve been harping on. So I don’t understand what’s going on at the moment. To me it’s a clear target of the head.”
Smith added he was checked for a concussion and cleared. He then referred to the two-game suspension that went to Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano last week for a much lesser shot to the head — a suspension that also ended Cogliano’s 830-game ironman streak, the fourth longest in league history.
“I find it difficult that a guy like Andrew Cogliano gets two games for his suspension and at this moment there hasn’t been any repercussions [for Clifford],” Smith said. “I don’t know. Obviously that would have changed the outcome as well. So there were a lot of different things that could have happened.”
Forward Kevin Hayes missed a sixth straight game for the Rangers with a leg contusion, but he did take part in Tuesday’s morning skate and is scheduled to practice Wednesday. If he can get through the practice with full participation, coach Alain Vigneault said he hopes Hayes can play in the final game of this trip, Thursday in San Jose, which will be the last game before the All-Star break.
“He’s day-to-day,” Vigneault said. “Working on his rehab and trying to get back in the lineup.”
Forward Daniel Catenacci and defenseman Steven Kampfer were healthy scratches for the second straight game. Catenacci has played only one game since being called up from AHL Hartford just before this trip started, while Kampfer has been out for three of the past five.