Brendan Smith appears to be a healthy scratch for the Rangers

TAMPA, Florida — It appears that Brendan Smith will be a healthy scratch for the third time this season Thursday night.

Smith skated Thursday morning with spare forward Paul Carey and backup goaltender Ondrej Pavelec at Amalie Arena, which generally signals that a player will sit.

Ryan McDonagh, who did not practice on Wednesday, skated and seemed fine. He left the rink early and said he would be ready to play against the Lightning. So if McDonagh dresses, Smith seems the odd man out. Coach Alain Vigneault will have his pre-game briefing at 5:30 p.m.

“I was not totally happy with my last game,” said Smith, 28, who agreed to a four-year, $17.4 million contract during the summer, but also was benched for the third and fourth games of the season.

“I felt like I’ve had a lot of really good games, and a couple periods have got away from me . . . and I think I’ve got to make sure I have a lot of consistency to make sure I stay in the lineup. I’m continuing to work on that [Thursday] and try to get ready for Florida [Saturday’s game against the Panthers] if I don’t play [Thursday night].”

Smith has two assists in 11 games and played just 12:06, including a sloppy first period, against Vegas on Tuesday. If he is not in the lineup, both Nick Holden and Steven Kampfer will be, because the Rangers are carrying just seven defensemen.