After getting hurt in his first and only appearance of the Eastern Conference Final, J.T. Miller is still not quite ready to rejoin the Rangers.
On Sunday, Miller didn’t practice with teammates -- but did go for a solo skate prior -- and his status for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday remains unclear, according to head coach Alain Vigneault, who told the Bergen Record that Miller’s “a couple more days” from returning.
Miller, the Rangers’ first-round pick (15th overall) at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, was hurt during Game 4 of the Montreal series after Andrei Markov pushed him into the Habs’ net in the second period:
The 21-year-old tried to return to play but was eventually forced to leave with the aforementioned shoulder ailment, and finished with just three minutes of ice time. Much like the regular season, Miller has been in and out of the Ranger lineup for most of the playoffs, making two appearances in the Flyers series, one in the Penguins series and one in the Canadiens series.