K’Andre Miller lacking consistency, production for Rangers in down season so far
In the New York Rangers most recent game, a 6-3 back-and-forth loss to the NHL-best Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, one could simply chalk it up to losing to a better team. After all, the Jets are 15-1-0, the first team in NHL history to win 15 of their first 16 games in a season; and the Rangers, 9-4-1 overall, are just 4-4-0 in their past eight games.
However, there is more to it than simply being defeated by an opponent that only wins these days.
There’s a lot being left on the table from key players that’s keeping the Rangers stuck in neutral the past few weeks. That game Tuesday was there to be won if the Rangers didn’t shoot themselves in the foot time and again. As coach Peter Laviolette pointed out, the Jets are confident and talented team right now, so they’re going to make you pay for each of your mistakes. And that’s what happened Tuesday.
The whipping boy from the Rangers latest loss is Mika Zibanejad. Three of his turnovers led directly to three separate goals in the contest.
But upon closer inspection, Zibanejad is not the only Rangers player deserving of scrutiny.
K’Andre Miller also had a night to forget. The 24-year-old defenseman had an ugly minus-four rating and was held without a point for the ninth straight game. It was just the latest lackluster showing by Miller this season. He’s minus-seven in his past three games and minus-five overall, and has two points (goal, assist) in 14 games. For a player who put up 43 points and a plus-12 rating just two seasons ago, this start is not ideal.
It’s probably not the best strategy to land a long-term, big-money contract as a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer either.
Related: Rangers coach says Zac Jones, Braden Schneider ‘warranting more ice time’
P.K. Subban believes K’Andre Miller could be most talented Rangers defenseman
Miller has many desirable tools as a defenseman, who’s in his fifth season as a staple on the Rangers blue line. He has size (6-foot-5, 210 pounds), a good shot, an impressive skill set, and tremendous speed. However, this season especially, he tends to use none of the high-end talent he possesses and reverts to panic mode far too often.
Even former NHL star and noted Rangers hater P.K. Subban said on a recent ESPN broadcast, “K’Andre has got all the tools, he’s got more tools than Adam Fox. He should be the Rangers best defenseman right now, and he’s gotta play that way consistently every night.”
The thing is, he doesn’t play that way every night. Not even close to that so far this season. And that’s coming off 2023-24, when there was some backsliding in his production and overall play.
When the Jets notched a power-play goal to make it 2-1 in the second period Tuesday, Gabe Villardi easily dangled through a prone Miller to complete a gorgeous give-and-go play to take their second lead of the night. Miller once again irresponsibly left his feet in a key moment of the game late in the third period, leading to yet another goal. The Jets skated in on a 2-on-1 rush, and Miller, the only defenseman back, slid to block a potential pass across the slot. Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers shot the puck wide, just for the puck to bounce right to former Rangers forward Vladislav Namestnikov, who wrapped it into an open net.
Had Miller remained upright on the play, he may have had a much better chance to retrieve the rebound or at least put the body on Namestnikov. Instead, it was 5-3 Jets.
Miller endured this tough game alongside Jacob Trouba as his defense partner. The Miller-Trouba pairing has been nothing short of unusable for the Rangers this season, ranked in the bottom 10 defense pairings in the League for expected goals percentage, per Natural Stat Trick. Miller and Trouba tout a jarring 32.1 xGF percentage when they play together this season.
Laviolette has seen enough of that pair. So, Miller will pair with Adam Fox, his partner at the start of the season, when the Rangers host the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. Ryan Lindgren, who’s had hos own struggles, bumps down to play alongside Trouba.
The one pairing that’s fared well of late is the third unit featuring Zac Jones and Braden Schneider. Not only will that pair remain intact against the Sharks, Laviolette hinted that Jones and Schneider could see extended ice time.
Might that come at the expense of Miller’s TOI? Likely not, if Miller is on the top pair with Fox, who’s done nothing to deserve a decrease in his ice time. But it all bears watching because Miller is a major disappointment so far in 2024-25.
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