‘Sometimes they go in’: Miller’s 3rd OT goal of season ties Rangers record
New York Rangers captain J.T. Miller isn’t generating much offense in regulation so far this season. But it’s a whole different story when the game goes past 60 minutes.
Miller scored his third overtime goal of the season at 2:21 of the extra period to give the Rangers a 2-1 road win against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night, ending their two-game slide. He’s responsible for their past two victories; Miller also got the OT winner on Saturday in a 5-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden, after which they lost 4-1 to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday and 3-0 to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, also at MSG.
The overtime goal Thursday, a rocket of a shot from the high slot through defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov’s screen that beat goalie Jordan Binnington, was the 17th of Miller’s career. He’s tied for seventh on the all-time NHL list.
Miller also scored the OT winner in a 4-3 road victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 30 and had the primary assist on Will Cuylle’s OT goal in a 3-2 road win against the Seattle Kraken two nights later. For good measure, he also scored the deciding goal in a 2-1 shootout win on the road against the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Nov. 15.
“Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t,” Miller said Thursday about his OT success. “I feel like I’ve had some success in previous years in overtime. Today was kind of a weird one. I was pretty tired out there and they had a little breakdown in their coverage and [Vincent Trocheck] made a [heck] of a play. Tried to shoot the puck a little bit more today, and it’s nice to get off the schneid a little bit.”
J.T. Miller’s latest OT goal lifts Rangers to 2-1 win against Blues
Miller is hard on himself for not producing more in regulation for an offense-starved team – he has just seven goals and 17 non-OT points in 34 games. He has seven points (three goals, four assists) overall in his past eight games, and said his success in extra time should give him more of a boost.
“It’s good for the confidence,” he said. “Last couple weeks, I feel like my game’s there. I don’t think it’s kind of back to the same as the beginning of the year. It’s like not getting as much as I’d like, I think, on the score sheet.
“But I’ve got to believe that if you just play like that most games than not over the course of the season, good things will happen. Just try to be confident.”
Goalie Igor Shesterkin, who made 26 saves, said Miller is “a huge player for us.”
“He’s a leader,” Shesterkin told the New York Post. “He has a great personality. He played great. He always plays hard. So we just try to follow him, especially in overtime.”
Miller passed Max Pacioretty for the most overtime goals by a U.S.-born player in NHL history. And he tied a Rangers record for most OT goals in a season – matching Tomas Sandstrom, Adam Graves, and Marian Gaborik.
“It was a great shot, and a great screen by ‘Vladdy’ – Vladdy goes to the net.” coach Mike Sullivan said postgame. “It was a good play all around.”
Sullivan wants Miller to let ‘er rip more often rather than looking for the perfect play.
“I had a conversation with him this morning and tried to encourage him to shoot the puck a little bit more,” the coach explained. “Sometimes he passes up the opportunity to shoot it. He has a heavy shot.
“He’s one of the few guys we have on our team (who) can beat goaltenders clean, with a clear-sided shot. That’s how heavy I think his shot is. That was a great example of it.”
Sullivan also liked with the teamwork and smart puck play that led to Miller’s OT winner.
“[Overtime] is a possession game. You’ve got to be selective about when you shoot. Overtime, for me, is all about possession. Those guys were patient when they needed to be. They came up the ice together. Vinny made a nice play, Vladdy goes to the net – it’s a good screen.
“Good players make good plays.”
The Rangers need more plays like that when they continue their grueling five-games-in-seven-days week with a Saturday afternoon contest against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Garden, followed by visits to the Nashville Predators on Sunday and the Washington Capitals on Tuesday before the Christmas break.
