Rangers' K'Andre Miller suspended three games for spitting incident
Rangers defenseman K'Andre Miller skates with the puck against the Golden Knights in the first period of an NHL game at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 27. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller has been suspended for three games after incurring a match penalty for spitting at Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty in Sunday’s game, the NHL announced Tuesday afternoon.
Miller, 23, has played in all 60 of the Rangers’ games this season and is the team’s second-leading scorer among defensemen (behind Adam Fox) with six goals and 24 assists. He plays the point on the second power play unit and averages the second-most ice time per game among skaters (also behind Fox), at 21 minutes, 56 seconds per game.
His absence, along with the Rangers’ maneuvering to clear space under the salary cap to acquire Chicago star Patrick Kane, may leave the Blueshirts playing short one defenseman Wednesday, when they visit the Flyers in Philadelphia.
Defenseman Ryan Lindgren missed Sunday’s 5-2 win over the Kings with an upper-body injury sustained in Saturday’s 6-3 loss in Washington, and he did not practice Tuesday. If Lindgren is unable to play Wednesday, the Rangers would be left with only five healthy and available defensemen for the game, once they recall Braden Schneider from AHL Hartford.
Miller was ejected from Sunday’s game with 3:23 remaining in the first period, and the Rangers, who were only playing five defensemen (Schneider was dressed, but sat on the bench awaiting his assignment to Hartford), were forced to finish the game playing with just four defensemen.
Miller, who was not made available to reporters at the Rangers’ practice Tuesday, apologized to Doughty after Sunday’s game, and posted a public apology on his Twitter page Monday.
“I have all the respect in the world for Drew Doughty and what happened was accidental,’’ the apology said in part. “I would never intend to do something like that on purpose, it goes against everything I am as a person and a player.’’
Miller’s ejection led to heavy ice time for the four defensemen who finished the game. Little-used Ben Harpur wound up playing a whopping 28:04, second to Jacob Trouba (29:01) in the game.
“Back in the minors probably,” Harpur said with a chuckle when asked the last time he played that much. “So it’s definitely been awhile since I’ve had that many minutes. But I loved it.”
With Denis P. Gorman
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.
