Ahead of a stretch where the Rangers’ roster could keep changing ahead of the trade deadline, they also lost their captain again.
J.T. Miller is going on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, according to The Post’s Mollie Walker. It’s a different injury from the one that forced him to miss time at two other points during the season. He also missed seven games while on injured reserve from late December into early January.
Miller is required to spend at least seven days on injured reserve.
It’s unclear when the injury occurred during the Rangers’ 5-4 overtime loss to the Blue Jackets on Monday, with Miller skating all the way through overtime, collecting an assist and even talking with reporters afterward. But the latest injury continues a roller coaster of a season filled with disappointment in his first full year as Blueshirts captain, with Miller already missing nine games while recording just 14 goals and 38 points.
He recently won a gold medal as a key piece of a Team USA penalty kill unit that didn’t allow a power-play goal during the Winter Olympics.
Miller’s absence will also force head coach Mike Sullivan to shuffle his lines again just when the Rangers’ top group — with Miller skating alongside Mika Zibanejad and rookie Gabe Perreault — has started to generate some production.