The New Jersey Devils are lacking a physical presence as Jack Hughes stated after their loss to the New York Rangers on November 18th. However, after their win against the Buffalo Sabres on November 25th, the Devils might have found that presence in Brendan Smith.
The Devils have been playing 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the last several games. During that time period, head coach Lindy Ruff tested out Smith at the forward position. At first, it was touch and go for the defenseman turned forward. But something clicked for him Saturday night against the Sabres.
New Jersey got a boost from the return of their captain Nico Hischier. And there were some scores to be settled on the Devils side of things when it came to Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton.
Recall, Clifton was the one who knocked out Hischier with a big hit. Clifton was suspended two games, while Hischier missed 11 games for the Devils. So you knew Clifton was going to eventually answer the bell for that hit.
Enter Brendan Smith. With the Devils leading 4-0 late in the first period of Saturday’s game, Smith and Clifton drop the mitts. The skirmish ended quickly with both participants getting roughing minors.
“I asked him (to fight) right off the bat,” Smith told MSG Network. “The timing didn’t work (early). At 2-0, it’s a dangerous time to give them momentum. I was buying my time. It worked out when we were up 4-0. Then, it was go-time.”
Even though these two guys settled the score on this night, Clifton believes this feud is long from over.
“I think so. I would want the same thing,” Clifton said post-game when asked if Devils defenseman now forward Brendan Smith will go at him again. “Obviously, (Hischier) missed a lot of time. It’s unfortunate. I served my time, but you know, in the other room, it’s not over with.”
The Devils talk about being a brotherhood, but the lack of physical presence is a reason why their smaller players like Hischier and Jack Hughes are out of the lineup. They do not have a response when they get hit in the mouth. And Ondrej Palat was not brought in to be the physical presence.
That is where Smith comes in. He was one of those guys general manager Tom Fitzgerald brought in for leadership. Despite the criticism he gets from the fan base over his defensive lapses, it appears, Smith found his role on the team at the forward position.
He stepped up for Hischier. Not only that, but he was using his big body when he was out on the fourth line with Nathan Bastian and Chris Tierney. Similar to what Miles Wood and Ryan Graves did for the Devils last year.
Though he still plays with the same defensive mindset, Smith’s role has changed. Now he can be aggressive on the forecheck by using his big body to separate the man from the puck. That is important when winning those puck battles. Not only that he can regain possession and push the puck up the ice.
While Smith still plays defense on the penalty kill, his new role is on the fourth line. And while it is a small sample size, it seems Smith is better as a forward than a defenseman.
Brendan Smith even factored in on the scoresheet. On Tyler Toffoli‘s first goal of the night, Smith was effective in skating the puck deep into Buffalo territory. Smith’s ability to start a cycle game allowed the Devils to keep possession during a delayed penalty for the Sabres.
Smith parked his big body in front of goaltender Eric Comrie. From there Smith registered the primary assist on Toffoli’s goal after redirecting the point shot to Toffoli for the goal.
Again this is not the first time Smith has played forward. When Lindy Ruff was the head coach of the New York Rangers, Smith played forward when he was a member of that team as well. So it is not out of the question for him to be a permanent fixture there. Especially since he was very effective.
“I think I can utilize (Smith) as that fourth-line player,” Ruff told New Jersey Hockey Now. “He brings some physicality and brings a hardness that we need. So it definitely gives us an option.”
More from James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now:
“I thought he played a heck of a game at forward,” Ruff explained. “He was on the body, he was physical. He had the scrap, which I liked. His energy was tremendous in the game. I’ve said before, I’ve been with him when he’s played forward. He plays (it) well. He was in on a couple of scoring chances and handled the puck well. (Brendan) brought exactly what we needed then. He helped us on the back end when we needed him to.”
While Tom Fitzgerlad is always looking to upgrade his team, he might have found the solution he was looking for in Brendan Smith already on the roster.
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