J.T. Miller’s debut was successful on a personal level on Saturday, but his two goals weren’t enough to fix the New York Rangers’ defensive issues in their 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins.
The Rangers are now on a three-game losing streak after a 10-game point streak (7-0-3), and they hope Miller’s first home game back with the team will bring a better result when they host the struggling Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.
The Rangers have been outscored 15-7 during their losing streak, after a stretch where they allowed more than three goals only twice. Miller will play his first home game as a Ranger since February 25, 2018. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning and then spent over five seasons with the Vancouver Canucks before being traded back to New York on Friday.
On Saturday, Miller scored a tying goal midway through the first period and added a power-play goal 35 seconds into the third.
“It’s obviously exciting, the talent he has and the player he is, a player with experience and skill,” said New York center Mika Zibanejad. “It’s exciting to have him here. We’re excited to have him.”
Miller shares the same excitement.
“I couldn’t be happier to be here now,” said Miller, 31. “It’s been one of the best teams in the league. I’m excited about trying to get them back in the playoff picture here.”
The Golden Knights are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Rangers on January 11, part of a rough 3-6-3 stretch. Before that, Vegas had a strong 13-2 run in 15 games.
On Thursday, Tomas Hertl scored early in the game, but the Golden Knights couldn’t add more and lost 2-1 in overtime to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Two nights earlier, they took a 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars after holding a two-goal lead early.
Vegas has been held to fewer than 30 shots on goal in four straight games.
“We just got to find ways to generate more offense, more looks, and just get back to the way it was at the beginning of the year, which is a lot of traffic, point shots, tips, things like that,” said defenseman Noah Hanifin. “We’ve got a big, big group up front, and we’ve got some D that can move.”
After the loss to Columbus, the Golden Knights signed forward Brandon Saad to a one-year contract after he left the St. Louis Blues. Saad, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the 2013 and 2015 Chicago Blackhawks, had seven goals and 16 points in 43 games for St. Louis before joining Vegas.
If Saad plays on Sunday, he will join a Golden Knights team missing William Karlsson, who has been out for the past five games with a lower-body injury. The team has also seen captain Mark Stone score just twice in his last 12 games.
