Detroit — Mike Green has had the tag of offensive defenseman attached to him throughout his career, and Brendan Smith isn’t shy about taking chances, either.
Normally they are paired with a defenseman who is defensive-minded.
But Green and Smith were slated to be paired together Tuesday against New Jersey as coach Jeff Blashill attempted two new pairings largely necessitated by Jonathan Ericsson’s shoulder injury (Ericsson missed his second consecutive game).
Blashill also had Niklas Kronwall playing with Danny DeKeyser — Green had been paired with Kronwall, and Ericsson with DeKeyser.
Jakub Kindl (who replaced Ericsson in the lineup) was paired with Alexey Marchenko.