Rangers place Miller on injured reserve with upper-body injury

The New York Rangers will be without their captain for some time, as center J.T. Miller has been placed on injured reserved, according to several reports, including from Mollie Walker of The New York Post.

Miller has not played since the team’s 5-4 shootout victory over Philadelphia on December 20. Miller is out on a week-to-week basis, and according to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, the injury is not expected to jeopardize his candidacy for a spot on Team USA at the Winter Olympics in February.

Named as the team’s captain prior to the season, Miller was brought back to New York, where he began his NHL career, last season in a blockbuster trade with the Vancouver Canucks. This season, Miller has 22 points through 35 games as his offensive production has taken a dip from where it was with the Rangers last year.

In a corresponding move, the Rangers announced on Monday that they have recalled forward Brett Berard to the NHL roster.

Berard, a 23-year-old native of Rhode Island, has appeared in 11 games for the Blueshirts so far this year without recording a point. In his NHL career, he has 6 goals and 4 assists for 10 points in 46 games played.

With New York’s AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack this season, Berard has 9 points in 19 games. Last year, he put up 23 points with the Wolf Pack across 30 games played.

A gold medal winner with Team USA at the U20 World Junior Championships, Berard was New York’s fifth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft at No. 134 overall.

In their bid to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing out in surprising fashion a year ago, the Rangers approach the holiday break sitting in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 18-16-4.

After falling in Nashville on Sunday night, New York will visit second-place Washington on Tuesday night for its last game before the break.