Rangers defenseman K'Andre Miller goes on injured reserve with upper-body issue

GREENBURGH — A week after trading away their captain, Jacob Trouba, the Rangers were forced to rearrange their defense corps and the unit will have to undergo another, shorter term adjustment, as defenseman K’Andre Miller has been placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.

Miller, who took a big hit from forward Jordan Greenway in the second period of Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Buffalo, goes on IR retroactive to Thursday. He will have to miss at least seven days, meaning he is eligible to return to play Wednesday. That means he will miss at least Saturday’s home game against the L.A. Kings and the first two games of the upcoming road trip, Sunday in St. Louis and Tuesday in Nashville.

The Rangers said Miller will not go with them at least on the first part of the trip, but if he’s healthy by then, he could theoretically join the trip in progress, and potentially play in the final game of the trip, next Friday in Dallas.

“I think everybody goes through it, through the course of a year, where they have to count on the depth of the organization,’’ coach Peter Laviolette said. “We feel like we have good pieces in place to come up, but now it's their turn to step up.’’

Veteran Connor Mackey, who was recalled from AHL Hartford to serve as the seventh defenseman after Trouba was traded, is expected to step into the lineup in Miller’s place, Laviolette said. At practice Friday, Mackey skated in Miller’s spot on the second defense pair, partnered with Braden Schneider.

“He’s a big boy,’’ Schneider said of the 6-3, 205-pound Mackey. “I think we play quite similar games. He plays a hard, physical game. And I think we're gonna have some fun. I think we're gonna make sure that we're hard to play against and keep things simple.  If we can limit the chances that (the opposition) get and just get pucks out of our zone and into our forwards’ hands, I think it's gonna be a good game for us.’’

Mackey, 28, signed a two-year contract with the Rangers prior to last season, and has spent almost all of that time with Hartford. He did play one game with the Rangers last season, and it was an impactful one. With Trouba suspended and Ryan Lindgren hurt, Mackey was forced to play against Ottawa in the last game before the All-Star break. He played a strong game and his fight with Brady Tkachuk was credited with sparking the team to a comeback victory that started a 10-game winning streak and a turnaround after the Rangers had been struggling for a month.

“The game I was able to play, I feel like I did a lot of good things,’’ Mackey said. “It's not just a fight, just my play in general. And I think, yeah, of course, you want to maybe build off that game, but that was last season… It's a new season now, so, a new opportunity. And I’m just going to capitalize on my time here now.’’

Blue shorts

With only six healthy defensemen on the roster, the Rangers called up D Chad Ruhwedel from AHL Hartford late Friday.

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.