SAN JOSE, Calif. — Safe to say that J.T. Miller learned his lesson.
The Rangers’ mercurial young forward was doing the best he could to move past his benching for the final two periods in the team’s 6-3 loss Tuesday night to the Ducks in Anaheim. More so, he was trying to get past the mistakes in his game that led coach Alain Vigneault to the conclusion the team was better served with Miller off the ice.
“There’s no point in sitting back and feeling bad for yourself,” Miller said Thursday morning before the final game of this four-game trip, against the Sharks at SAP Center. “I know my play needs to be elevated. I think it’s just my response needs to be a strong effort. The team needs to have a good game, and I think when I’m playing well, that helps.”
The Rangers are trying to salvage a trip that started with three straight losses, and with it being the final game before the All-Star break, they also needed a strong effort to feel good about themselves going into the All-Star break. Miller is a big part of that equation, having become an even more integral part of the team this season after general manager Jeff Gorton traded center Derek Stepan and the team became shallow up front.
For the most part, he has been one of the more engaged forwards on a nightly basis, and has gone back and forth from center to wing with relative ease. But his penchant for trying to force plays and turning the puck over in dangerous situations has not disappeared, and it still bothers Vigneault to no end.
“J.T. does a lot of good things on the ice, but sometimes puts himself in a little bit of trouble with decisions with the puck,” Vigneault said. “Just needs to take the high-percentage road and he’ll be in good shape.”
After that game Tuesday, Vigneault was obviously still steaming about Miller’s play, explaining his benching only by saying, “I’d seen enough.” It’s easy to understand, with Miller making two ghastly turnovers in the first period that resulted in goals.
And when he was stapled to the bench, Miller said he wasn’t exactly shocked by the decision. He just tried to take it as professionally as possible.
“At that point, you just want the team to win,” Miller said. “The guys played a pretty good game, put up a lot of shots, had some good looks. Can’t make the game about me and be a distraction at that point. Be a good teammate and move forward.”
There is no question the Rangers need Miller to be a dependable player and an offensive contributor if they want to stay in the postseason mix after the break. He is third on the team with 29 points through the first 49 games, and also has 10 goals, one of seven players on the roster to reach the double-digit threshold entering the game Thursday. There is no denying his natural talent, and he often does make the low-percentage plays that don’t seem like they’re there.
But those often end in turnovers, and to avoid that, Miller has tried to simplify his game.
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“Just have to play to my strengths,” Miller said. “I think when I’m doing that, I’m skating and being physical. I have to get in on the forecheck and hit people. I think that starts the game and can’t look to make plays all the time. Have to look to shoot the puck a little bit, move your feet. It’s so simple, really.”
The hope for the Rangers is that the simplicity gets through to him and there are no more stretches like the first period Tuesday. Vigneault certainly doesn’t want to have to discipline him again, and the team can hardly afford for him to be at less than his best.
“At the end of the day, you can X-and-O it as much as you want, but I think I evaluate myself pretty fairly and I know that’s not good enough,” he said. “I’m not surprised by what happened. But I’m ready to play.”