COLUMBUS, Ohio – Brendan Smith paid the price for his giveaway Friday that gifted the Red Wings their first goal in Detroit’s 3-2 overtime win when he was scratched from the lineup against Columbus on Saturday. It was the first game Smith has sat out this season. He was replaced by Freddie Claesson, who was activated off injured reserve after missing nine games with an upper body injury.
Smith, the defenseman who was in the midst of a rebound season after he was waived and sent to the minors last year, had the puck stripped from him by Detroit’s Gustav Nyquist as he tried to skate out from behind his own net with the Rangers holding a 2-0 lead early in the third period.