Rangers defenseman K'Andre Miller's level of play has been on an upswing

Looking at K’Andre Miller’s collection of attributes – he’s 6-5 with great skating ability, a long reach on defense, good hands with a big shot and a scoring touch on offense – the former first-round pick, from St. Paul, Minn., seemed ticketed, for a while now, to develop into a star.

This was supposed to be the year when he broke out. He’s in his fifth NHL season, turned 25 in January and is in the final season of the two-year bridge contract he signed in the summer of 2023. The incentive to put up big numbers and land a huge payday was there.

It hasn’t quite worked out quite that way. In what’s been a confusing and underwhelming season for the Rangers, one that’s seen a good amount of upheaval for the club, Miller has, like a lot of his teammates, had an up-and-down year.

The good news is that lately he has been on an upswing, one that coincides with improved play by the team, which had won four of five games and had climbed into a tie for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with Detroit before Wednesday’s game at Madison Square Garden against the No. 1 team in the East, the Washington Capitals.

“Obviously it's been a frustrating year,’’ Miller said after the Rangers’ morning skate Wednesday. “But I think the last couple weeks, maybe even since our (4 Nations Face-Off) break, I feel like I've been trending in the right direction.’’

In 55 games played before Wednesday, Miller had five goals, 10 assists and was a minus-3. But in the last five games, he had an assist, a spectacular goal against Nashville Sunday, and was a plus-1 in four of the five games.

The goal he scored against Nashville was an example of the kind of brilliant play he can make at any moment. On the play, late in the second period, he saw an opening, sped up the right wing to join the rush, took a pass from J.T. Miller and lifted a sweet backhander just under the crossbar.

“He's attacking ice right now, and he's one of the top skaters that we have, using his edges to make cuts to get out of our zone,’’ coach Peter Laviolette said. “He's making the pass that he needs to make. But to me, I see him, when he's charging through the neutral zone and the puck's on his stick, usually good things can happen for us.’’

Miller has stepped up in the absence of the Rangers’ top defenseman, Adam Fox, who went on injured reserve last week with what’s believed to be a shoulder injury. Miller and his partner, Will Borgen, had already been the top matchup defense pair, sent out to defend the other team’s top line. But the two are now the No. 1 pair overall, asked to not only shut down the other team’s stars, but also to chip in offensively.

Miller’s goal, and one by Borgen, shorthanded, the next night against the Islanders, are the kind of thing the Rangers need if they are to get back into the playoffs.

In what’s been a season of change and upheaval on the Rangers, and for Miller, the defenseman was asked if he ever doubted, even when the team was last in the Metropolitan Division, and far out of a playoff spot, that they would make their way back into the playoff field.

“No,’’ he said. “I don't know, it's weird, because you obviously hear things from the outside, and you try to close your ears and close your eyes as much as you can, for a point in time there during the season. But… I don't think our willingness to make the playoffs, or giving ourselves a shot ever changed.

“I think we still have that determination... and we still feel very capable of making the playoffs,’’ he said. “That's where we want to be at the end of the year, and I think, obviously, we put ourselves in a tough spot at the beginning of the year, but we’re sticking with it and we're getting good results.’’

Notes & quotes: Forward Reilly Smith missed his third straight game as the team continues to try and trade him before the NHL’s Friday deadline. Smith is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer . . . Chris Kreider remained on IR with an upper-body injury and missed his sixth game in a row.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.