ANAHEIM, Calif. — Brendan Smith was both angry and befuddled.

The Rangers edgy defenseman took a bad penalty and got into a fight that set the tone for a hellish second period Sunday night en route to a 4-2 loss to the Kings in Los Angeles. But just before that, Smith had been nailed with a high hit from Kings forward Kyle Clifford that drew only a two-minute minor for charging.

And that is what was still bothering Smith as he prepared with his teammates to continue with the third leg of this four-game road trip on Tuesday night here against the Ducks.

“I’m still shocked that nothing has happened,” Smith told The Post on Tuesday morning at Honda Center. “I think those kind of hits are what we’re trying to get out of the game. That’s what we’ve been harping on. So I don’t understand what’s going on at the moment. To me it’s a clear target of the head.”

Smith added that he was checked for a concussion and cleared. He then referred to the two-game suspension that went to Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano last week for a much lesser shot to the head — a suspension that also ended Cogliano’s 830-game ironman streak, the fourth longest in league history.

“I find it difficult that a guy like Andrew Cogliano gets two games for his suspension and at this moment there hasn’t been any repercussions,” Smith said. “I don’t know. Obviously that would have changed the outcome as well. So there were a lot of different things that could have happened.”

But what did happen was that Smith was nailed with being the scapegoat for the Blueshirts second straight loss, the team now having gone 5-7-1 in the 13 games since Dec. 21. It is getting close to crisis mode, and the Feb. 26 trade deadline is looking ever more important for the future of the franchise.

And Smith’s four-year, $17.4 million contract he signed just days before he could have reached free agency last summer is not making the salary-cap situation any easier. Smith, 28, earned himself two straight games as a healthy scratch in the contests that bookended the bye week in early January. Coach Alain Vigneault also benched Smith for two consecutive games in the first week of the season, as well as a stretch of six straight in early November.

“Smitty is trying hard,” Vigneault said. “He’s trying to play with bite and trying to get back to the dependable Smitty we all know and love. That’s a player that plays with that bite and walks that line.

“Every game, he’s got three or four plays — and we’ve talked to him about this — that can make the difference on one side or the other. He needs to pick the right side. He knows it. He’s working hard. And we’ve got a lot of faith and confidence in him that he’s going to help us here moving forward.”

Smith said he’s not focusing on bringing that bite, but his agitating style normally brings it to him. Just before he was nailed by Clifford, he laid out Tanner Pearson with a clean body check, and it’s likely that Clifford was looking for him with a bit of retribution.

“I just play my game,” Smith said. “Sometimes, depending on the game situations, there are chances for more edge or less. I think I just play the situational game. I don’t go looking for things. I let it come to me.”

One of the big reasons the Rangers signed Smith is because they like that edge, and there are few players on the roster that have it. It proved quite useful during the playoffs last spring, when Smith was one of the team’s best and most engaged defenseman.

But they also need him to be disciplined, and manage the puck well. It’s all part of trying to get this season back on track.

“It’s just frustrating when you’re not getting wins,” Smith said. “I think I like where my game has been going. I think it changes if we end up winning these games, my game would have been looked better upon. So it’s just how things have been going.”