Miller, Team USA Head to Quarter-Finals After 9-3 Win Over Slovakia
JT Miller had two assists and was 14-for-18 on faceoffs to help lead Team USA to a 9-3 victory over Slovakia and clinching a spot in the quarter-final round of the World Junior Championships against the Czech Republic on Wednesday.
Chris Peters at the United States of Hockey gives a recap of Miller's game...
"Miller also had his best game yet, registering two assists and absolutely dominating the faceoff dot. This was the game he needed to have heading into the medal round. He’s under-performed expectations, but made a lot of headway today with the way he got involved offensively. He clicked better on the power play and got back to getting pucks to the net and utilizing his speed instead of relying on his skill. That was J.T. Miller’s game as you expect it to be."
After Miller struggled on a line with John Gaudreau and Rocco Grimaldi the first three games, head coach Phil Housley replaced Grimaldi with Jimmy Vesey and it seemed to ignite the group.
Miller now has 1g, 2a in four games.
...only took three games, but it was nice to see Housley finally switch up Miller's line which obviously had no chemistry. I had also received a tweet from Miller's uncle the other day saying he had the flu, which could be a reason for his struggles earlier in the tournament
...love seeing Miller with 77.8% sucess rate on faceoffs in the game, which is something the Rangers have struggled with mightily in recent years.
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Is the faceoff percentage indicative of his usual faceoff performance? Unfortunately this is a stat that you don't see much on individual players but could be very important to the big club.
@GLENsatherVSglennDANZIG I know in the prior three games it hadn't been nearly this good.
@KevinDeLury oh ya, I know I watched and he was mediocre at best. I know there's been talk about him being an NHL winger someday so he must not be that great. I think our d-man on the Czech team had an assist too Ceresnak I think.
