J.T. Miller and Team USA decided to play some big-boy hockey against Canada on Super Saturday at the 4 Nations Face-Off. For that reason, and many others, the United States skated to a 3-1 victory at Bell Centre in Montreal.
That Miller relished the villain role should only get the New York Rangers more fired up to see what their new addition will be like if they are able to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs this spring.
True, it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison. On Team USA, Miller plays up and down the lineup, and with such a talented roster, he can really focus on being a vital support player. He’s excelling in that role, playing physically, dropping the gloves nine seconds into the game Saturday and playing a vital role alongside Rangers teammate Vincent Trocheck on the penalty kill.
Back in New York, Miller is looked to be a vital contributor in those areas as well. But the Rangers rely on his offensive production moreso than Team USA in this tournament.
Still, it must fire up Chris Drury and Peter Laviolette to see how Miller plays when the stakes are raised. He’s been an intense wrecking ball out there for the United States. It’s easy to picture all that he’ll do for the Rangers come playoff time.
As for his fight with Colton Parayko, well, in all honesty it could’ve gone better for the Rangers forward. Parayko had the upper hand in that one. But it was a fight Miller wanted. Not dissimilar to how he mucked it up generating a mini-melee at the start of Team USA’s 6-1 win against Finland on Thursday.
Of course, let’s not forget that when this midseason international tournament is over, the Rangers have 27 games left to actually make the playoffs. Right now, they sit three points out of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. But Miller’s battle level in these games gives you an idea of his passion to win and how that can rub off on the Rangers down the stretch and come spring time.
New York Rangers news
Mika Zibanejad scored the game’s first goal, but it wasn’t enough for Sweden, which lost 4-3 in overtime to Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Chris Kreider was a healthy scratch for the second straight game for Team USA, but he could play Monday against Sweden.
Here’s a look at six important Rangers who need to be on top of their games coming out of the schedule break.
Dave Maloney explains why he “shed a tear” during games in Vancouver until Rangers finally re-acquired J.T. Miller.
NHL news
Already without defenseman Shea Theodore (week to week with upper-body injury), Canada played Saturday without Cale Makar, who was ill. He was replaced by Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley.
Connor McDavid and Canada are laser focused on a rematch with the United States in the 4 Nations championship game. But first they’ll need to defeat Finland on Monday.
Matthew Tkachuk left the U.S. win on Thursday with a lower-body injury in the third period. Team USA coach Mike Sullivan said the star forward is being evaluated.
NHL.com picked the right player to pen a blog for Finland throughout the 4 Nations Face-Off. They selected Stars forward Mikael Granlund, the very same player who scored the overtime game-winner against Sweden on Saturday. Here’s his take on “what a game.”
Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson buried the hatchet in his public war of words with former Team Sweden coach Johan Garpenlov at the 4 Nations on Saturday.
Hockey Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom, one of the greatest players to ever come from Sweden, admitted that the current Sweden team at the 4 Nations is a notch below both Canada and the United States.
On the trade rumors front, it doesn’t appear the Edmonton Oilers are going to ask Jeff Skinner to waive his no-move clause despite his subpar first season with them.
The Seattle Kraken could be a popular shopping post for teams looking to upgrade ahead of the trade deadline. Brandon Tanev, Jaden Schwartz, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Andre Burakovsky are among those on the Kraken roster that teams are expressing interest in.