The New York Rangers have had to deal with a lot of adversity early this season, as Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin both missed a few weeks injured, and Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko are still out with injuries. Now, they are missing one of their best defensemen, as K’Andre Miller is out for personal reasons. He was out of the lineup in their 7-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 12, and it is unclear when he will return.
When Adam Fox missed 10 games in November, Erik Gustafsson stepped up. The Rangers found ways to win close games, and they went 7-2-1 with him out of the lineup. Now they will have to find a way to win games without Miller, who has developed into an irreplaceable blueliner.
Miller’s Rise as a Two-Way Defenseman
The Rangers traded up to draft Miller 22nd overall in the 2018 NHL Draft. Though he converted from a forward to a defenseman only a few years before getting drafted, the 6-foot-5 defenseman had two consecutive impressive seasons playing college hockey at the University of Wisconsin. He finished with five goals and 17 assists in 26 games in 2018-19 and seven goals and 11 assists in 36 games in 2019-20.
Miller earned a spot in the Rangers’ lineup in 2020-21 and established himself as a top-four defenseman playing alongside Jacob Trouba. He used his excellent skating and long reach effectively, but for the most part, he focused on his defensive play, often deferring to his partner in the offensive zone and opting to make safe plays with the puck. Miller finished with five goals and seven assists in 53 games. He had a similar 2021-22 season, finishing with seven goals and 13 assists while playing in all 82 games.
Last season, Miller took a big step forward offensively as he started looking to join the rush and shoot the puck more often. He continued playing well defensively and finished with nine goals and 34 assists in 79 games despite rarely getting ice time on the man advantage; just three of his points came on the power play.
This season, Miller has picked up right where he left off last season. He is continuing to use his reach and speed to his advantage and has consistently generated offense at even strength without sacrificing his defensive play. He has become an essential penalty killer and already has five goals and seven assists in 26 games, even though he has no power-play points. He has four goals and an assist in his last eight games, including an assist and a game-tying goal in the third period of a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 29.
The Rangers’ Situation Without Miller on Defense
With Miller out, Zac Jones is back in the lineup on the Rangers’ third defense pair while Gustafsson moves into a top-four role, playing with Trouba. Gustafsson played very well with Fox out of the lineup, creating scoring chances without making many defensive mistakes; however, he has made too many giveaways and poor decisions in the last few weeks.
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While Jones and Gustafsson are capable of creating offense at even strength, they tend to take a lot of risks and certainly are not as strong defensively as Miller. In their loss to the Maple Leafs, the Rangers gave up a lot of high-quality scoring chances in front of their net, which, combined with star goalie Shesterkin’s recent slump, led to an ugly loss.
The Rangers have allowed 23 goals in their last five games, which is disappointing, especially after a strong start to the season defensively. They have a strong core on defense but are a little weaker on the left side, which makes Miller even more important for them. Ryan Lindgren is also a reliable left-handed defenseman, but he has not played quite as well as he did last season. He has uncharacteristically gotten caught pinching in the offensive zone a couple of times in the last few games, and he has just one goal and one assist in 26 games.
For Miller and the Rangers Moving Forward
The Rangers need to defend better with or without Miller in the lineup. However, their game against the Maple Leafs showed that they are not the same team without him. While the biggest knock on his game remains that he often looks to stick check rather than taking the body, he has gotten a little more physical and has developed into an impressive two-way defenseman.
Miller and Trouba have proven to be the team’s best defense pair so far this season, and Miller continues to put up strong numbers offensively without playing on the power play. At just 23 years old, he has the potential to become even better, and he is already an irreplaceable player for the Rangers.