Replace was not a word the Rangers were using when thinking of their missing captain, Ryan McDonagh, set to be out for a second straight game with a mild abdomen strain Friday night against the Red Wings at the Garden.
But his loss has been softened somewhat by the Rangers’ versatility on the back end, with numerous blueliners being able to play both sides. That includes Brendan Smith, who returned to the lineup Nov. 17 against the Blue Jackets after a six-game absence as a healthy scratch with a renewed vigor in his game — which is now needed more than ever.
“I think I’m still getting better,” Smith said after a 6-1 win Wednesday over the Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C., his third game back and an individual performance coach Alain Vigneault called his “best game of the year.”
“Think I’m still getting a bit of the rust off,” Smith said. “Every game is getting a little better, and that’s to be expected after sitting for quite some time. I think I like where my game has been going, and I just want to keep improving.”
Smith is a left-handed shooter, but he has proven to be comfortable on both the left and right sides. His most effective pairing in his short Rangers tenure has been on the right with the quick-footed Brady Skjei on the left.
But since McDonagh went down, Smith has paired with Nick Holden, another lefty playing on the off-side right. They were an effective pair against the Hurricanes, and hoped to keep it going against the visiting Red Wings.
“I’ve said this many times, being able to play more than one position is a bonus,” Vigneault said. “Being versatile is a big bonus for a team, whether it’s up front, or on ‘D’ if you can play the left or the right side. It helps you a lot of times get ice time, because you can play more than one spot. And if you can play it well, it’s real good for team.
“So in Smitty’s case, I think he’s probably a little bit more comfortable on the left, like all players are on their natural side. But we’ve asked him to play on the right, he’s done a good job for us.”
The ability to play both sides — really, the ability to play the right, with McDonagh, Skjei and Marc Staal all far more comfortable on the left — is a big reason why the Rangers chose to sign Smith to a four-year, $17.4 million deal this summer just days before he reached free agency. They first became enamored of him when Smith showed up as a trade-deadline rental from the Red Wings last season and was one of the Rangers’ most ferocious defenders during their run to the second round of the playoffs.
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And he did most of it on the right side.
“Sometimes it’s easier,” Smith said of playing the right, “making some plays, keeping pucks in at the blue line. Or having your feet up ice because you’re on your natural side. There are pros and cons to both sides, and I’m comfortable either.”
Yet it wasn’t quite there early in this season, when Smith played his way into street clothes. Vigneault found him worthy to play in just 11 of the first 19 games, while the Rangers had gotten off to a disastrous 1-5-2 start. But his benching was seemingly a wake-up call that made an impact, and Smith began to show it at Carolina.
“His gap was good, his decisions with the puck were good, jumped in the play at the right moment and he was a big part of quite a few scoring chances,” Vigneault said, with Smith having a sweet cross-ice assist on Chris Kreider’s game-opening goal. “And he defended real well all night with his gap and his stick position, his body position. That’s definitely what we need from him going forward.”