Looking ahead to his Madison Square Garden debut on Thursday morning, Rangers rookie J.T. Miller said he'd be looking to do something to get himself and the home crowd into the game on his first shift. Other than that Miller said he just wanted to stay even-keeled and play a simple, yet solid, game.
When the lights went up Thursday night, Miller delivered in storybook fashion, scoring on his first shift of the game, before adding a power play breakaway goal late in the second period, to help the Rangers to a 4-1 victory over the Islanders.
Just 48 hours after his impressive NHL debut Tuesday night in New Jersey, the Rangers top pick in the 2011 draft made his much-anticipated Garden debut a memorable one by lighting the lamp just 89 seconds into the game. Miller collected a chip pass from fellow first-rounder Chris Kreider, skated in on Islanders netminder Evgeni Nabokov, and beat him with a left-wing shot to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Rangers captain Ryan Callahan, who returned to the lineup after missing three games due to a shoulder injury, fished the puck out of the net and presented it to the 19 year-old rookie after a group celebration in the corner.
Miller later scored a hugely important goal with 1:49 to play in the second, giving the Blueshirts a 3-1 lead. After winning a defensive zone faceoff, Miller tore through center ice and accepted a perfect Ryan McDonagh pass for a breakaway against Nabokov. Miller's shot banked in off Nabokov's body, a power play goal.
In between Miller's heroics, the Rangers received a goal from Marian Gaborik at 14:04 of the first period and surrendered one to the Isles John Tavares at 11:13 of the second period. They also saw an apparent Taylor Pyatt wraparound goal waved off because the whistle had blown.
McDonagh closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal, his first of the season, with 2:08 left to play in the third period.
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STATS OF THE GAME
The Rangers extended their home winning streak against the Islanders to eight games, and have outscored the Islanders, 35-11, during the streak. The Blueshirts have now registered at least one point in 14 of their last 17 games against the Islanders, posting a record of 12-3-2 over the span, dating back to a 5-2 win on Dec. 17, 2009, at the Nassau Coliseum. |
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| (selected by the local media) |
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| 1. Miller |
2. Lundqvist |
3. McDonagh |
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