There were plenty of signs — and admissions — during and after the Rangers opener that J.T. Miller wasn’t entirely back up to speed following a lower-body injury sustained in the preseason.
His legs were heavy, the center said last Tuesday, and it would take time and reps before he resembled the version of the player the Blueshirts acquired in the middle of last season and named their captain over the summer.
But slowly, and then more rapidly, Miller has started to showcase that.
He collected his first goal late in Thursday’s win over the Sabres, and then Sunday, skating alongside Will Cuylle and Conor Sheary again, Miller produced three high-danger chances — and as a line, the trio produced six.
The Rangers have already been forced to shuffle lines just four games into the season with Vincent Trocheck week to week due to an upper-body injury, but the physical Miller starting to contribute and fueling a new-look line has helped.
“Just a lot of effort,” Cuylle said of Miller after the Rangers’ 1-0 loss to the Capitals on Sunday. “What he always brings. He’s the leader of our team, so he’s getting in the fight, going head-first in there, so we’re all kinda following his lead.”
Following Trocheck’s injury in Buffalo, Mika Zibanejad shifted to center Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafrenière, while Sheary — the 33-year-old winger who made the Rangers roster after starting training camp on a PTO — joined Miller and Cuylle. Both lines, even without Trocheck and even with head coach Mike Sullivan’s tweaks, have continued to produce.
Sullivan praised Zibanejad for his two-way contributions and his physicality before Sunday’s game, while Miller, who sparked the Rangers with 35 points in 32 games after arriving from the Canucks last season, has quickly collected three in his past three games after the rough opener.
Everything could change again once Trocheck eventually returns or if additional injuries force more shuffling. But for now, even though they haven’t produced a goal yet, Cuylle said Sunday that he felt his line has been “building the last couple games” and “should’ve been rewarded” — with a more acclimated version of Miller at the center of everything.
“I think a lot of predictability with each other,” Cuylle said of skating with Miller and Sheary. “North-south hockey, just winning our battles one-on-one and really trying to get pucks to the net.”
The Rangers haven’t scored in either of their two games at the Garden, and Tuesday, they’ll be tasked with keeping up with the high-octane Oilers — the two-time defending Western Conference champions who have lost to the Panthers in each of the past two Stanley Cup Finals.
Edmonton has averaged three goals per game through its first two matchups this year, though superstar and three-time Hart Trophy winner Connor McDavid hasn’t produced one yet. Leon Draisaitl and Andrew Mangiapane both lead the Oilers — guided by former AHL Hartford coach Kris Knoblauch — with two goals.
Entering Monday’s games, the Rangers (10-for-10) were one of six teams to kill 100 percent of their penalties to start the season.
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