Don’t expect to see any more shenanigans between Brendan Smith and Zdeno Chara this week.
Smith, a Detroit Red Wings defenseman, told reporters Monday — one day after his attempts to throw down with Chara were met with nothing but laughter — that he was wrong to engage the hulking Boston Bruins blueliner.
“I should have backed out; it was a heat-of-the-moment thing,” Smith said, via the Detroit Free Press. “I’ll be honest, next time, we’re going to stay away from that, because we want to play our game.
“It’s a series to win. It’s not a UFC match out there. You’re not going to win the heavyweight battle by doing that.”
Smith’s younger brother, Reilly, scored the Bruins’ second goal in their series-evening win and said after the game that challenging the much larger Chara was “probably not the smartest decision” for his sibling. Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock offered a similar take Monday, saying the elder Smith should stick to his strengths.
“If you’re a really good speaker, you should find employment speaking,” Babcock said. “If you’re a really good fighter, you should find employment fighting. You walk into the bar, and there’s this beautiful young gal standing next to this 6-foot-5 monster, who you know makes his living fighting for a living, and you’re the best pool player in the bar — are you going to play pool, or are you going to fight?
“Figure it out. Seems simple to me.”
Game 3 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal series is set for Tuesday night in Detroit.
