K’Andre Miller making impact on Rangers’ second power-play unit

K’Andre Miller making impact on Rangers’ second power-play unit

K’Andre Miller made his NHL debut just over a year ago and the Rangers defenseman is already nearing his 100th game.

The Rangers’ matchup with the Maple Leafs on Wednesday was game No. 93 for Miller. And on Friday, he will turn 22. All of those numbers tell a story of a young blueliner who has been charged with a great deal of responsibility in primarily a top-four role from the moment he stepped into the Rangers’ lineup.

Miller has often been the youngest Ranger on defense this season, when rookies Nils Lundkvist, Zac Jones and Braden Schneider haven’t dressed. Despite having more reps, however, Miller has committed his fair share of rookie mistakes in his sophomore campaign.

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Rangers defenseman K'Andre Miller (79) and Golden Knights center Chandler Stephenson (20) become entangled during the second period of a game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Las Vegas.K’Andre MillerAP

Still, Miller continues to develop and has shown flashes of promising play. In recent games with several Rangers going in and out of COVID-19 protocol, Miller stepped in on the second power-play unit.

“I talked to K’Andre earlier in the year, I said, ‘You always [go to] those power-play meetings, make sure you’re there because sometime you’re going to get some opportunities,’ ” head coach Gerard Gallant said recently. “ ‘Not a whole lot, right now. But make sure you’re available, because you’re a big guy that can shoot the puck, you’ve got some skill back there. We see that down the road.’ He’s been there, he’s done it a few times. And again, he’s a confident kid and he feels good about it. When you give them a little bit like, they’re pretty excited.”

Miller, who is seeing 19:24 of ice time a game after averaging 21:07 in his rookie season, has now logged over nine minutes on the power play this season. He had lost power-play time to Lundkvist earlier in the season, but with the Swede assigned to AHL Hartford and others unavailable, Miller saw more time.

“Obviously, it’s more ice time,” Miller said. “Getting out there and being about to produce with that extra guy is definitely huge. I think I’ve been able to show a little more offense since being on the power play. I think overall, just keeping it simple and being reliable in all three zones has been my biggest thing.”


Alexis Lafreniere cleared COVID-19 protocol and was activated ahead of the game Wednesday, allowing the 20-year-old winger to compete in his first game in over a week.


The NHL announced a series of schedule updates that included four Rangers games, three of which had to be rescheduled due to a COVID-19-related postponement.

Those matchups include the Dec. 27 contest with the Red Wings, now slated to happen on Feb. 17, the Nov. 20 game against the Senators, which has been rescheduled for Feb. 20, as well as the Dec. 22 tilt with the Canadiens, now set for April 27.

The Rangers’ would be third-to-last game of the regular season against the Bruins on April 24 has also been moved to Feb. 15.