K’Andre Miller and Rangers will get to next level with more nights like this
There was nothing for KAndre Miller to do but laugh heartily out loud when the writer to whom he had told following the morning skate that, I dont think Ive done anything this year that Ive been really happy with, to be completely honest, moseyed over to the defensemans stall in the flush of a dominant performance.
I dont really know what to say now, Miller said following his two-goal, three-point effort in Wednesdays emphatic 5-1 Garden victory over the Capitals that maintained the Blueshirts hold on first overall in the NHL with a .742 points percentage off their 24-8-1 record. A little different.
A little different, but not out of the ordinary for this team that has run all year with the big dogs and has avenged one defeat after another when allowed by the schedule.
A little bit different, but not entirely out of the ordinary for the still-emerging fourth-year defenseman, who stepped up with perhaps his most declarative statement of the year after Jacob Trouba went down with an unidentified upper-body injury 1:15 into the second period after a seemingly benign brush with Tom Wilson.
4K’Andre Miller reacts after scoring a goal in the second period of the Rangers’ 5-1 win over the Capitals. NHLI via Getty ImagesThis was Miller at his most imposing, using his skating, creativity and skill not only to join the rush but to also orchestrate it. No. 79 was strong at both ends of the ice while matched most of the night against the Caps Alexander Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Wilson top unit.
This was a night on which Miller did things for which he certainly should have been happy. It is one thing to look in the mirror and be an unsparing self-evaluator. It is another to be delusional. This was a night that warranted Millers trademark smile that can light up the Broadway sky.
I came out of the Christmas break with some goals, Miller said following the second multi-goal game of his career. Just to be playing better hockey. I dont think theres any crazy recipe so I just wanted to come back with a little bit better mindset and do a little more for the team.
4K’Andre Miller had a big night for the Rangers against Washington. Robert Sabo for NY PostIt was on Nov. 25 after the Rangers served notice to the league and perhaps to themselves by beating the upper-echelon Bruins at the Garden and thus vaulting into first overall in the NHL when Miller said, I still dont think weve played our best hockey yet.
The Blueshirts had gone 8-5 in the ensuing 13 games leading up to Wednesday. Thered been good, bad and some ugly in there. The Rangers aspire to a higher level than that. They reached it in this one with a dominant final 40 minutes in this one against a Washington team that started the night 17-9-5.
I dont think weve really found our game, if you will. I think theres another higher level we can get to and maintain more consistently, Miller had said following the morning skate. I think thats maybe been the fall lately, I guess, that weve seen with this group the last two or three years or so, maybe the inconsistency where well have one of our best games followed by one of our worst games.
4K’Andre Miller notched three points in Wednesday’s win. NHLI via Getty ImagesWe need to narrow that gap. Finding that full 60-effort the way we want to play, doing that more consistently, thats what were aiming at. Its coming.
It came on Wednesday.
Miller will turn 24 on Jan. 21. When matched with Trouba, he is the left half of the Rangers matchup pair. The tandem, which invariably gets the oppositions top guns in conjunction with head coach Peter Laviolette ramping up the match game, ranks fifth in the NHL with a 58.97 percent of goal share (23 for, 16 against) among the 15 pairs with at least 400 minutes at five-on-five.
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Still, Miller has not been at all satisfied with his play.
I need to simplify my game. Maybe Im trying to create too much or trying do too much with the puck, said the defenseman, who two weeks ago stepped away for a pair of games so he could deal with a personal matter. Thats where my game can slip away from me at times. From my perspective, its about keeping the game simple, keeping guys in front of me, trusting myself and being reliable for my teammates.
Miller can be a one-man breakout. He has the skating skill and vision to break traps. He is not shy about joining the rush. He can shoot the puck. His defensive numbers are slightly improved over last year. You will hear no complaints from Laviolette.
I think hes a young player continuing to get better and continuing to push. There are so many athletic things he does on the ice, his skating, his reach, his ability to move pucks, he said. I think all of our players are trying to reach another level but its not in the sense that Im sitting here disappointed in the way hes playing.
4K’Andre Miller said he still wants to “simplify” his game. Robert Sabo for NY PostIt is about reaching the next level for the Rangers. It is about reaching the next level for Miller.
Sometimes I feel like we get away from our game by trying to do too much east-west hockey, said the 22nd-overall selection of the 2018 draft. We know thats a recipe for disaster.
Its clich, but we have to play to our identity every night no matter who were playing. We have to set the standard for ourselves. When we all bear down and play the 200-foot game, north-south hockey, thats where were at our best and thats when were the most dependable.
Dependability leads to the next level. The Rangers reached it on Wednesday. The same applies to Miller.
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