A rough defeat, improved draft positioning, and rising doubts about J.T. Miller while Lafrenière continues to offer a glimmer of hope for the Rangers.
If the New York Rangers had somehow pulled off a win, it would have fit the kind of frustrating scenario often described aligns with where things stand: a clear defeat in a game they didn’t deserve to win.
To begin:
Miller played a major role in both Blue Jackets goals during the third period. On the first, he headed for a line change with the puck barely outside the Rangers’ blue line and without clear control. Although Mika Zibanejad replaced him, he couldn’t get involved in time before the puck ended up in the net. Before the empty-netter, Miller casually sent the puck around the boards in the offensive zone, and the Rangers failed to secure possession. They lost control, allowing Adam Fantilli to finish the game.
Commentator Dave Maloney suggested that Miller may still be dealing with an injury and frankly, that would explain a lot.
The issue isn’t just underperformance; it’s that Miller seems to negatively impact the team when he’s in the lineup. Ideally, he wouldn’t be part of the roster at all, though that’s unlikely in the near term. Considering the apparent groin injury from preseason that lingered into the regular season, along with a more recent upper-body issue and the noticeable drop in team performance when he plays it’s hard to understand why he hasn’t been placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.
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