Having lost both Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren, coach Peter Laviolette will be employing K'Andre Miller more than ever.
In an extremely physical sport such as major league hockey, injuries are inevitable. When that happens, it's a case of "Next Man Up."
We'll see this firsthand tonight at the Garden when the Rangers are challenged by the high-flying Winnipeg Jets.
Having lost both core defensemen captain Jacob Trouba and -- most recently -- workhorse Ryan Lindgren, coach Peter Laviolette will be employing K'Andre Miller more than ever.
As a matter of fact we saw that over the weekend, first in Pittsburgh and then Sunday on Seventh Avenue.
While winning 7-4 against the Penguins and then 5-2 over the Isles, Lavvy extracted some solid hockey -- both offensively and defensively -- from Miller.
On Saturday afternoon, Miller helped defeat Sidney Crosby's team with a goal and two assists. He logged 23:06 of ice time, skating with impressive confidence.
Against the Islanders, it was more of the same, only this time the head coach kept him on the pond for 24:43.
He also registered two assists and a pair of hits, one blocked shot and two takeaways.
Most noticeable is that K'Andre is committing fewer errors while playing like a Trouba-Lindgren-type leader.
This, by the way, is a far cry from the indecisive, error prone Miller we lamented earlier in the campaign.
Mind you tonight's game will mark the first contest in a while where both Lindgren and Trouba will be sidelined.
The Maven's says: The focus is on Miller, and let's see whether K-A will deliver an A-1 game!