Bold headline: Rangers’ captain J.T. Miller sidelined by injury, and the team’s lineup could look dramatically different soon.
Ahead of a stretch that could bring ongoing changes to the Rangers’ lineup before the trade deadline, they’ve lost their captain again to injury.
J.T. Miller has been placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, per The Post’s Mollie Walker. This is a separate issue from the ailment that caused him to miss time earlier in the season. He also sat out seven games while on IR from late December into early January.
Miller must remain on injured reserve for at least seven days.
It isn’t clear when the injury occurred during the Rangers’ 5-4 overtime loss to the Blue Jackets on Monday. Miller played through regulation and overtime, earning an assist and even speaking with reporters afterward. Nevertheless, this latest setback continues a season of highs and lows for Miller in his first full year as Blueshirts captain, as he has already missed nine games and posted 14 goals and 38 points.
Notably, Miller recently helped Team USA win gold, delivering a strong performance on a penalty-kill unit that did not allow a single power-play goal during the Winter Olympics.
Miller’s absence will force head coach Mike Sullivan to shuffle lines once again, just as the Rangers’ top unit — featuring Miller with Mika Zibanejad and rookie Gabe Perreault — had started to produce some momentum.
