MONTREAL — If you saw Brendan Smith’s battles with Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw in Game 1 on Wednesday, you’d know this wasn’t the newest Rangers defenseman’s first rodeo.
Smith, 28, a teammate of Ryan McDonagh’s at the University of Wisconsin, played four full seasons with Detroit, including 27 playoff games, before he was acquired at the Feb. 28 trade deadline for a third-round pick in this June’s draft and a second-round selection in 2018.
“He’s a competitor, I know him from when we played Chicago,” Smith said with a grin on Thursday after practice at Bell Centre.