Rangers notebook: Defensemen improving, vets take maintenance days, Matt Rempe drops gloves
The New York Rangers opened 2025 on the right note with a 2-1 win against the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, snapping a four-game losing skid and breathing some much-needed life into Madison Square Garden.
Pivotal in the Rangers victory was the play of goalie Jonathan Quick, who was outstanding with a 32-save effort.
But coach Peter Laviolette was again happy with what he saw from the Rangers defense corps. Despite having lost four of the past five games, the defensemen are showing signs of improvement. A key factor to this has been the return of K’Andre Miller from a seven-game injury absence, and the play of the second pair featuring Miller and newcomer Will Borgen.
“We the exception of one game in the last five, our compete and our defense has been pretty good,” Laviolette said Friday. “We’re happy with the way, from a five-on-five standpoint, that the defense has been playing. I think (Miller) and Borgen are figuring that pair out, we think they’ve been pretty good. They take tough minutes and defensive zone starts against opposition’s best players. Those are challenging moments.”
Per Natural Stat Trick, Miller was on the ice for 11 scoring chances for, nine against, and six high-danger chances for, four against in the victory over Boston. Borgen had similar numbers, 10-9 in scoring chances, 5-4 in high-danger situations. While not the most eye-popping numbers, it’s a drastic improvement compared to the scoring chances team-wide in their recent dismal 19-game stretch of 4-15-0.
Miller logged 22:57 TOI against the Bruins, his most in a single game since returning from injury. Borgen played a season-high 19:41 that includes six games with the Rangers and 33 with the Seattle Kraken before he was included in the Kaapo Kakko trade.
“I feel like he’s adjusting to it,” Laviolette said about Borgen. “It’s bigger. When you find yourself playing against other team’s best players, you find yourself in defensive zone starts a little bit more, there’s something to that. He and (Miller) are both great skaters, they close quickly, they get pucks and move them, get them out of our end and moving in the other direction. I think he’s come in here and provided some skating, some physicality, and played pretty well.”
Related: Brett Berard plays ‘100 miles an hour,’ brings Garden to life with goal against Bruins
Vincent Trocheck, Chris Kreider miss Rangers practice, will play against Capitals
One day after the win over the Bruins, Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider were both absent from practice Friday. According to Laviolette, each forward took a maintenance day and is expected to play against the Washington Capitals in a matinee Saturday in DC.
Both players skated in the full game on Thursday night, Kreider picked up an assist and logged 18:01 of ice time; Trocheck played 19:39. For Kreider, the maintenance could be related to the back issues he pointed out earlier in the season. Considering the Rangers play back-to-back games this weekend (also Sunday at the Chicago Blackhawks), it made sense for the 33-year-old to stay off the ice Friday.
Kreider and his linemates Mika Zibanejad and Reilly Smith played very well on both sides of the puck against the Bruins. Laviolette praised that line after the win.
“They were probably our most noticeable line, both defensively and offensively,” Laviolette said. “Their line was on for pretty much the whole night.”
Matt Rempe, K’Andre Miller ‘drop the gloves’ in friendly battle at Rangers practice
While Matt Rempe is busy serving an eight-game suspension for elbowing Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen back on Dec. 20, he has still been practicing with the Rangers. That includes dropping the gloves with Miller on Friday in a mock fight.
Check it out here:
Rempe still has three games left on his suspension, and is eligible to return Jan. 9, when the Rangers host the New Jersey Devils. Perhaps he’s giving Miller a pointer or two on fighting. After all, Rempe did train with Georges Laraque in the offseason, and knows a thing or two about hockey fisticuffs.
Or maybe, the kids (Rempe is 22, Miller 24) were simply being kids.
Either way, it’s nice to see the Rangers having some fun at practice, considering all of the tension surrounding them the past two months.
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