K’Andre Miller Out for Personal Reasons

Looking to build off a strong victory over the formidable Los Angeles Kings, the New York Rangers will have to do so without yet another key player in tonight’s contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Defenseman K’Andre Miller will be out of the lineup tonight for personal reasons.

Head coach Peter Laviolette has not provided further details, saying only that Miller is out tonight for personal reasons, with no indication of whether or not his absence would extend beyond tonight’s game.

Miller is, of course, a mainstay on the second defense pair with Jacob Trouba, and as such, a critical player for the Blueshirts. He’s recently ratcheted up his offensive game, with three goals in his past six contests. For the season, he has accumulated five goals and seven assists.

The Rangers boast a stellar 19-6-1 record despite long-term absences to several players at various points in the season, including Adam Fox, Kaapo Kakko, and Filip Chytil (the latter two of whom are still out of the lineup and will be for a while longer). Now, they’ll have to manage without Miller for tonight’s game, and possibly longer; the Rangers later announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Matthew Robertson from AHL Hartford, which could mean they expect Miller to be out beyond tonight (or could just be a contingency).

Even with Robertson’s call-up, look for Zac Jones to draw back into the lineup tonight, and for the Rangers to lean more heavily on Erik Gustafsson, who could play on the second pair with Trouba.

Let’s hope Miller is back in the lineup soon. More importantly, though, let’s hope that everything is OK in his life.