The New York Rangers let a close game turn into a blowout to the best team in the NHL, the Colorado Avalanche. Losing 6-3, there were a ton of things to take away from this one, with the overwhelming one being that the Avs are a well-oiled machine right now. The Rangers are not.
A sidebar of note, there was a key moment of Thursday night's contest that might have a big impact on the coming weeks and into the rest of the 2025-26 campaign. After much scrutiny and labeled as losing his mantra of "No B.S.", Rangers captain J.T. Miller played his best game of the season.
Miller did a little more than that, actually; he slammed the door shut on the doubters. Let's talk about it.
The Captain almost turned the tide
In a 3-2 game during the third period, Miller set himself up in front of the net for his second power-play goal of the night. He also opened the scoring on the night with a goal, setting the tone for the game. But that second goal was truly special, as it tied the game and put the Rangers in a position to try to win the game.
JT Miller’s second power play goal of the game pic.twitter.com/nJGNRhmUG4
— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) November 21, 2025
Then, arguably the best player in the NHL, Nathan MacKinnon, decided to put the game on his stick and beat Igor Shesterkin with an outstretched backhand. That was all she wrote from there.
Despite loss and -4 on scoresheet, it was a better effort from No. 8
The clip of Miller's lackluster turnover against the Vegas Golden Knights has been all over social media. Leading many to mock his initial address as the Rangers captain, that this team would be different from the disappointing campaign of 2024-25 because of a "No B.S." policy. There was going to be a new sense of accountability, and Miller was going to be a vocal leader on that.
Miller certainly answered that bad performance against Vegas by keeping the Rangers in a tight game against the best team in the league right now. He took matters into his own hands and tried to will his team to victory on his own.
It was not the result that the Rangers wanted, but it was a start. The only reason why the game was a true blowout was due to the two empty-netters to try and come back late. If not for that, it was really only a 4-3 game, which is not as bad of a look.