Just under a day prior to the New York Rangers facing off against the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon, the Blueshirts made a key trade, bringing back forward J.T. Miller, along with Erik Brannstrom and Jackson Dorrington, from the Canucks in exchange for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a conditional first-round draft pick.

Miller netted two goals in the match, but it wasn’t enough as Bruins forward David Pastrnak scored a hat trick, leading to a 6-3 defeat for the Rangers in Boston.

After a streak of 10 games with points (7 wins, 0 losses, and 3 ties), the Rangers have now lost three consecutive games. This has hindered their progress in a competitive Eastern Conference playoff race, putting them six points behind the Bruins for the second and final wild card spot.

The Rangers have a quick turnaround as they head back to Madison Square Garden to play against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night.

With only four games remaining in the regular season — three at home and one away — before a two-week hiatus for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, securing points is critical for the Blueshirts. They will again face the Bruins on Tuesday night at MSG.

J.T. Miller makes an immediate impact in debut

It’s been an eventful 24 hours for Miller.

The seasoned forward landed in Boston just after 4 a.m. following a flight from Dallas, where the Canucks had played the night before.

Miller quickly energized the Rangers’ lineup, leveling the score at 1-1 midway through the first period.

On that play, a strong forecheck by Artemi Panarin led to a loose puck that Miller seized, scoring the Rangers’ first goal of the afternoon.

The 13-year veteran added another goal on the power play, deflecting a shot from Mika Zibanejad to reduce the Bruins’ lead to one.

These were Miller’s first goals with the Rangers since February 25, 2018, marking his first multi-goal game with the team since March 28, 2017. He had previously scored two goals in a game with the Canucks just under a month ago on January 6.

“J.T. Miller brings a special mix of skills, size, and physicality to our team. He supports us now and will be a major part of our core in the future,” stated Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury in a message shared on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) prior to the game.

“He’s an exceptional 200-foot player. His contributions on both ends of the ice, including special teams, along with his physical play and competitive spirit, are assets we’re excited to add to our group.”

Second period proves decisive

Even though they were down 2-1 after the first 20 minutes, the Bruins seized the momentum as the second period began.

Boston scored just under four minutes into the period, and later increased their lead to 4-1 when Pavel Zacha found the net during a power play late in the second.

The Rangers managed only two shots on goal during the second period, with their first attempt coming at the 10:32 mark.

Despite having the 30th-ranked power play (successful on just 13.6% of opportunities), the Bruins netted two power play goals against the Rangers’ highly-rated penalty kill (83.7% success rate).

Whenever the Rangers managed to tie or narrow the gap in the score, the Bruins quickly responded.

This was evident in the third period; after Miller scored his second goal just 35 seconds into the final frame, Pastrnak immediately answered back with his second goal 46 seconds later. He secured his hat trick with an empty-net goal later in the game.

Igor Shesterkin facing ongoing challenges

Since the conclusion of the Rangers’ 10-game point streak, Shesterkin has struggled significantly.

The former Vezina Trophy winner has given up 14 goals in his past three games, all resulting in defeats.

In his previous two losses, Shesterkin allowed four goals against the Hurricanes and five against the Avalanche, both matches occurring at home.

Despite these disappointing performances, he wrapped up January with a commendable 2.07 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.

Given that this was a back-to-back game and his fourth consecutive start, it’s likely that backup Jonathan Quick will take the net on Sunday night. Quick is still seeking his 399th career win after facing losses in his last three starts.

Following this matchup, Shesterkin is expected to have at least two to three more starts before the break, as he aims to regain his form.