NEW YORK – It was an eventful return to play for New York Rangers’ defenseman K'Andre Miller this week.
Miller, the son of 1988 Fairmont High School graduate Amy Sokoloski, is in his second season in the NHL.
The Rangers went through a 14-day hiatus for the All-Star Game and what was expected to be a break for the Olympics before the NHL decided its players would not go to China.
On Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, Miller scored the game winning goal in the ninth round of the shootout in a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins.
It was Miller's first shootout attempt in 101 games in the NHL.
"A little nervous there, but it all worked out," Miller said at the postgame press conference. "Coach kind of turned to me when their guy was up and I was like, 'Really, you want me to go, am I hearing this right?' But it was a fun opportunity and I'm glad I made the most out of it."
Watch the full news conference:
In a home game vs. Detroit on Thursday, Miller scored a goal in the second period of an eventual 3-2 loss to the Red Wings in a six-round shootout.
In 49 games this season Miller has 11 points on four goals and seven assists. For his career he has nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points.
Miller, a 6-foot-4, 216-pound defenseman, was selected by the Rangers with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.
He played high school hockey at Minnetonka before joining the USA Hockey National Team Development Program and spent two seasons in the United States Hockey League and in international tournaments like the 2016 World U-17 Hockey Challenge and the 2018 IIHF World U18 Championships.
After the time in the development program, Miller spent two seasons with Wisconsin and also played in two straight IIHF World Junior Championships.
Miller left Wisconsin after two seasons to sign a contract with the Rangers. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he did not join the team until the 2020–21 season. He averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time per game and earned all-Rookie Team honors.
New York is tied with Toronto for fifth place in the Eastern Conference playoff standings with a 31-13-5 record. The Rangers, who are at Ottawa Sunday, have played two more games than the Maple Leafs.