MONTREAL — There was impending free agent Brendan Smith playing his most formidable game as a Ranger; there was potential buyout candidate Dan Girardi playing a throwback game in which he threw his weight around while matched against the Canadiens’ top unit; there was likely expansion-available Oscar Lindberg centering the fourth line that made a significant impact on the Game 1 outcome; and there, finally, was general manager Jeff Gorton taking it all in and processing Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over the Canadiens.
“You’re always evaluating, but it’s not as if I’m going game-by-game or series-by-series on the decisions we have to make,” Gorton told The Post while the Blueshirts practiced in advance of Friday’s second game of their first-round series. “It’s not like from one day to the next I’m changing my mind about guys and about who’s in and who might be out.
“It’s all going into the [mental] file that we’ll go over as a group after it’s done, the same way we always do. Performance matters — it always does, right? — but postseason decisions aren’t my focus. There’s a time for that, but it’s not now.”
Girardi has played well since returning from his prolonged March absence, during which he tended to the ankle injury he first sustained in early February. But with two years remaining on his contract at $5.5 million per and the league getting faster every day while the noble 32-year-old veteran does not, No. 5 likely is facing a buyout.
Smith, who had been erratic and often undisciplined since his Feb. 28 acquisition from Detroit, was a physical presence in the playoff opener while paired with Brady Skjei, repeatedly clashing with Andrew Shaw and coming out on top of a majority of his one-on-ones. You can be sure the Rangers would like to be able to keep the lefty, who plays the right side, after yielding a second-round and a third-round pick to get him.
A string of games like Wednesday’s certainly would increase the 28-year-old Smith’s value to the Blueshirts, even as it would all but certainly increase the price tag to keep him from hitting the open market.
“It’s the furthest thing from my mind,” said Smith, praised by coach Alain Vigneault for his competitive edge and puck-moving in Game 1. “Not even a blip on the radar.
“Here’s how I look at it: Everything falls into place the better I play. When it’s over, I’ll take it all in and we’ll see where it goes.”
Barring moves, Lindberg would seem to be ninth or 10th in the pecking order among forwards on a team that will be able to protect just seven in the expansion draft, with Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Mats Zuccarello, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes all seemingly off limits to expansion Las Vegas and Jesper Fast next on the ladder.
But Lindberg has been outstanding since taking over the steady role as fourth-line center and is growing into the consistent player the Rangers have envisioned for the last two years. He and wingers Fast and Tanner Glass dominated their Game 1 matchup against the Shaw line. But unless management juggles things, the 25-year-old Swede could well be bound for Vegas, where he would become a candidate for a top-six/nine spot up front.
“I’ve thought about it a little bit, but it’s not something I’m having sleepless nights over,” Lindberg said. “I’m just trying to make the most of my opportunity here and contribute what I can to help us win. I can only control how I play.”
In 1995, when the Red Wings were preparing to meet the Devils in the finals, Detroit goaltender Mike Vernon saw fit to engage in contract negotiations. A New Jersey sweep ensued. Few players since (or before) have been so chatty about their contract status in the midst of the tournament.
“Personal considerations don’t take priority,” said Henrik Lundqvist, looking to complete the opening two-game sweep here as he and his team did in the Eastern Conference finals three years ago. “The room becomes tighter.
“It’s all about the next game. It’s all about winning.”
And as Gorton, president Glen Sather and management’s kitchen cabinet, including the on-scene Chris Drury and Jim Schoenfeld, observes, the long-term is superseded by the immediate.
“I like our team, I like our players and in a perfect world we have a great playoffs, and I can bring everybody back,” Gorton said. “I don’t want the players thinking about contract negotiations, buyouts or the expansion draft.
“There’s one thing to focus on and that’s winning. And right now, that’s focusing on winning Game 2.”