J.T. Miller has been a bolt of lightning for the Rangers.
An electrification of this team was necessary, and Miller has proven capable of jolting the Blueshirts’ drive just by playing his game at the level that he has on a nightly basis since beginning his second stint on Broadway 10 games ago.
Behind a two-point night from Miller and a strong showing from his line, the Rangers trounced the Predators 4-0 Sunday night at Madison Square Garden to pull within two points of the second wild card as part of a three-way tie with the Bruins and Senators.
Miller has turned out to be the exact shock to the Rangers system they needed for this playoff push.
With a goal and an assist Sunday night, Miller not only extended his point streak to five games, but also upped his point total to 12 (six goals, six assists) in his first 10 contests back with the Rangers.
The production is easy to highlight, but his physicality and nonstop motor has been infectious.
Mika Zibanejad, who has endured a down season, has collected four goals, 11 assists and posted a plus-six rating since Miller’s trade, including the two assists he recorded Sunday night.
The Swedish center, who leads the NHL in points since Feb. 1 with 15, has skated eight of those 10 games on the wing of Miller.
Miller was just one of a multitude of changes in the Rangers lineup this season, which continued Sunday night as newcomers Juuso Parssinen and Calvin de Haan made their Blueshirts debuts after a trade with the Avalanche sent Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Lindgren to Colorado.
With Nashville skating on the second night of a back-to-back schedule, the Rangers took advantage of a tired Predators team that has lost 10 of its past 13.
Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick was stellar in his 800th NHL game, stopping all 35 shots he faced to record his third shutout of the season and 63rd of his career.
The Rangers more than doubled the Predators shots on goal — 15-6 — through the first period, from which they emerged with a 1-0 lead.
Physicality steadily increased until Matt Rempe crunched Nick Blankenburg into the boards leading with an elbow.
Blankenburg went down and Andreas Englund immediately sought retribution, dropping his gloves with the Rangers towering fourth-liner and exchanging some heavy blows.
While he was only called for an elbowing minor and fighting, it’s possible Rempe will have to face supplemental discipline from the NHL Department of Player Safety.
Especially considering he wrapped up an eight-game suspension just under two months ago.
Artemi Panarin later scored his first goal since Feb. 5 to put the Rangers on the board, winding up and blasting one past Nashville goalie Justus Annunen off a rush opportunity sprung by a sharp outlet pass from Alexis Lafrenière.
Nashville took seven of the 10 total penalties called in the game, and the Rangers scored on one of their four power plays.
Instead of taking the shot, Panarin dished to Miller crashing the side of the net at the last second for the 2-0 lead in the second period.
It counted as Miller’s ninth power-play point since Jan. 18, which is tied for third in the NHL.
The Rangers had a three-goal advantage just under 2 ½ minutes later, when K’Andre Miller backhanded one in off the rush for his fifth goal of the season.
Brett Berard made it a 4-0 game at the end of the third period.
