Miller returns from 3-game ban that gave ‘reset’
If there was a silver lining to K’Andre Miller’s three-game suspension for expectorating saliva in Drew Doughty’s face on Feb. 26 while the Blueshirts were already playing short, it is that it allowed the 23-year-old defenseman to catch his breath following a series of contests in which his play had leveled off.
“Obviously an accident and unfortunate that it happened,” Miller said without apology after his return to the team for Tuesday’s practice. “It’s a disgusting habit that I’m assuming that a lot of athletes in other sports have in general, but I’m moving on and just looking to play good hockey the rest of the stretch here.
“It was really hard [to watch the team], the days get pretty boring being out that long. But I think it’s good [for] a mind-and-body reset and a little break away from the rink, but still coming in and getting good workouts and skates in and staying in the best shape I could under the circumstances.”
Miller had originally tweeted just after noon the day after the incident that he’d been an accidental spitter and apologized to Doughty, whom he thanked for taking the time to meet with him and explain himself following the match.
The Blueshirts played with only four defensemen against the Kings for the final 43:23 following Miller’s ejection and then with five for the following three contests. The club will be back to six for the match in Montreal that kicks off a threegame trip on Thursday, while Ryan Lindgren remains “day-to-day” with the upper-body injury he sustained in Washington on Feb. 25.
Miller will skate with Jacob Trouba while Fox is paired with Niko Mikkola and Braden Schneider is joined by Ben Harpur.
“All my friends, my family, the guys in this room, all these guys know the type of person I am,” Miller said. “That’s not my personality, that’s not the type of player or person I am.
The Rangers are undergoing a dramatic change in power-play personnel in moving Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider onto a different unit than Artemi Panarin and Adam Fox.
Unit 1A will have Panarin, Patrick Kane, Vincent Trocheck, Alexis Lafreniere and Fox while Unit 1B will feature Zibanejad, Kreider, Vladimir Tarasenko, Filip Chytil and Jacob Trouba.
The reason for this is essentially so Zibanejad can station himself in the left circle for his lethal one-timer.
“It’s not a huge issue, they had two games, but honestly, we just want to put people in the right spot,” head coach Gerard Gallant said.
Lindgren, who has missed the last four games with the left shoulder injury he sustained during the first period in Washington on Feb. 25, skated on his own prior to practice and remains, “day-to-day.”