It wasn’t the return to the regular season that the New York Rangers fans had envisioned. After an incredible 4 Nations Face-Off break, NHL connoisseurs were hoping for the action to continue for some time. But the Rangers camp was left with a sullen face after the Buffalo Sabres trampled Peter Laviolette’s boys 8-2 tonight at the KeyBank Center. However, forward J.T. Miller didn’t hesitate to speak his mind about the glaring issues that brought about the loss.

In a post-match interview, the 31-year-old NHL star spilled the beans on what went wrong at the New York Rangers game tonight. “Maybe expected to be a little bit of rust, but I just think our effort and execution needs to be a whole lot better,” J.T. Miller said with a rather deadpan demeanor. “We kind of left the goalies hanging out to dry tonight,” the Rangers co-captain said sternly while also admitting that he didn’t perform well either.

Miller said, “For myself, need to be a lot better,” underscoring that he’s partly to blame for the defeat. However, the Rangers will have little time to brood over their tonight’s blow. Miller and the boys will be facing the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow at the PPG Paints Arena and will have another chance to redeem themselves, and J.T. too, is looking at the next match with hope.

“I’m glad we’re uh playing quickly again tomorrow, get a chance to reset,” the New York star stated, but couldn’t stop noting how the team was left in the dust by the hosts. J.T. Miller said further, “We just weren’t sharp today and you know they played a really good game. They worked their butt off and kind of outworked us and earned their stuff…know we’re going to be better tomorrow it’s just sucks right now.”

The Rangers’ in-state rivals made it clear early into the game that they meant business. In the first period itself, the hosts put five past New York netminder Igor Shesterkin, writing the epitaph for J.T. & Co. However, Miller still made it clear that “pouting” about the loss would get the team nowhere and that would instead welcome more trouble at tomorrow’s match. With the latest fumble, his return to the Big Apple continues to be a bumpy ride.

J.T. Miller’s recent weeks have been filled with ups and downs

While Miller started his NHL career with the New York Rangers, he also made a name for himself as a formidable forward playing for the Canucks for the last six seasons. However, everything started falling apart when his feud with teammate Elias Pettersson came to light. Last October, the two were seen exchanging fists during a practice session, following which J.T. took an indefinite leave from the team.

J.T. soon returned to the squad and became a regular customer in the opening line-up once again, but the friction between him and Petterson couldn’t be dusted under the rug for too long. The growing rift ultimately led to Vancouver trading Miller in late January, in exchange for Filip Chytil and Victor Mancini. However, the Ohio native didn’t waste any time being sad over his trade and instead embarked on his second stint with the Rangers with a bang against the Bruins on February 1.

J.T. was also one of the most consistent players for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off, despite not bagging any goals. At the first game between Canada and the USA, Miller gave his side an explosive start when he got entangled in a fistfight against Colton Parayko, just seconds after the Tkachuk brothers had their share of the brawl. But while that energy was missing from tonight’s battle against the Sabres, fans should hope to see the aggressive side of J.T. tomorrow. What about you? Are also looking forward to seeing Miller in his natural self soon? Tell us in a comment!