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J.T. Miller’s Ability At Center Critical To New York Rangers’ Success

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Silence fell over The World’s Most Famous Arena as New York Rangers center Derek Stepan journeyed from the ice to the locker room with what the Rangers describe as an “upper body injury.” With Stepan unavailable, the Blueshirts turned to fourth line winger J.T. Miller to fill the spot voided by Stepan on the second line. Miller has demonstrated his versatility throughout the season, mainly as a winger.

Miller’s play on the fourth line gives them an offensive threat. As opposed to being a heavy checking and solid defensive line, Miller’s ability to posses the puck and make plays in traffic gives the fourth line the dynamic of a third line. Alain Vigneault has said on multiple occasions that his ability to utilize “two third lines” give him an advantage when configuring matchups.

Miller has also experienced brief success on the top two lines while filling in for Chris Kreider (while he was out, mourning the loss of his Grandfather) and Derick Brassard (when he was infected with the mumps). The two-game stint replacing Brassard saw the former 1st round pick play in the middle. Miller has said on multiple occasions that although he is open to playing both wing and center, he is much more comfortable at the wing position.

This is in large part due to the increased responsibilities required to play center. When players are given added duties on the ice, they tend to overthink. The Rangers want Miller to just play and utilize his natural talents; he has proven that he is an accountable and reliable player. Miller tends to play free and easy while at the wing, but has displayed comfort in the center position in the past while playing for Team USA in the 2013 World Junior Championships.

Although he manned the middle at the Junior Level, Miller did so successfully on its greatest stage.

However, due to New York’s lack of depth down the middle, Miller needs to feel the same comfort playing center in the NHL as he does on the wing. Aside from the starting four centers, Miller is the only player on the active roster with any experience at center (except for Martin St. Louis, who played for the first time in his life for the first two weeks of the season). The center position is the most important of all the forward positions, and its value further heightens in the playoffs.

Miller’s move to the middle would weaken the team in that his skills are difficult to replace on the fourth line. While he may excel as a top six forward, the domino effect caused by his absence hinders the Rangers’ depth. Without him, Vigneault loses the ability to roll four speedy forechecking lines that can each control play, which is is a quality that the Rangers relied on heavily during the run to the Stanley Cup last year. While this year’s team differs, Vigneault would like to have four lines at his disposal at all times.

Adam Feld is a Rangers writer for www.RantSports.com.  Follow him on Twitter @trublunyblog.  Like him on facebook or add him to your network on google.

Related:

New York Rangers’ Vulnerability Due To Lack of Depth Down the Middle

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