J.T. Miller All Over The Action Against Canucks In Rangers Win

Saturday’s busy 14-game NHL slate started off with a bang as the New York Rangers snapped a three-game losing skid with a 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks at Madison Square Garden.

Both teams came in just below the playoff cut-line, and the matchup carried extra weight because it was J.T. Miller’s first game against his old team since he was traded back to the club that drafted him on Jan. 31.

After logging seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points in 20 games with the Rangers, Miller was all over the action on Saturday. The Rangers were badly outplayed during the first two periods, outshot 24-6. But after the Canucks opened the scoring on a first-period goal by Dakota Joshua, Miller helped his team draw even midway through the second, on the ice when Adam Fox tipped a point shot by Braden Schneider past Kevin Lankinen. 

Then, early in the third, he dug out the puck from the end boards and fed Jonny Brodzinski, putting the home side ahead for the first time in the game and sparking a frenetic third period that saw the Blueshirts outscore the Canucks 4-2. After Brodzinski broke a 3-3 tie with less than five minutes remaining, the dagger came off Miller’s stick, 176 feet into the empty net, with 17 seconds left on the clock.

Miller earned third-star honors for the day, and Brodzinski’s two goals gave him the first-star award. But the Rangers wouldn’t have been in a position to mount their comeback without Igor Shesterkin. He held steady while under siege through the first 40 minutes, stopping 1.96 goals saved above expected in all situations according to Natural Stat Trick as Vancouver outshot New York 24-6.

The final shots were 39-12 for the Canucks, Vancouver’s highest shot total of the year. By himself, Quinn Hughes challenged the output of the entire Rangers team, with nine shots on goal to go along with four misses and two blocks. He finished with one assist, breaking the ankles of Matt Rempe before setting up Joshua’s opening goal.

The Canucks didn’t just lose the game on Saturday. They also lost two of their hottest offensive players — both Swedes, no less, on the first-ever ‘Hockey Day in Sweden.’

Elias Pettersson appeared to suffer an injury on a second-period face-off play against Vincent Trocheck. 

He returned for two short shifts but was ruled out for the third period. Hoglander’s last shift came late in the second.

Both players had been piling up the points of late. Pettersson had three goals and six assists in his last six games, and Hoglander had six points in his last five games. 

Canucks coach Rick Tocchet did not have an update on either player after the game but mentioned that a center may need to be recalled from AHL Abbotsford — which doesn’t bode well for Pettersson. 

After the Canucks opened their six-game road trip on Thursday with an overtime loss to one of the teams they’re battling for a playoff spot, the St. Louis Blues, they’ll continue on the road for another eight days — visiting New Jersey, Long Island and Columbus before finishing off in Winnipeg. 

Miller wasn’t the only traded player to chip in offensively on Saturday.

The Canucks also dealt defenseman Carson Soucy to the Rangers just before the trade deadline. He played 16:22 and finished at plus-one, with the second assist on Brodzinski’s game winner. 

On the Vancouver side, former Ranger Victor Mancini picked up the second assist on Drew O’Connor’s third-period goal, which tied the score 2-2. O’Connor was also an indirect acquisition from the Miller trade, acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for the first-round draft pick that Vancouver received from New York.

Defenseman Marcus Pettersson also came to Vancouver as part of that deal. He had a quiet game, finishing at minus-1 in 20:10 of ice time. 

Filip Chytil, another former Ranger, did not play on Saturday. After putting up six points in his first 15 games with Vancouver, the 25-year-old missed his fourth game after suffering a concussion from a hit by Jason Dickinson of the Chicago Blackhawks one week ago.

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