It was the sort of move that can sometimes make a coach look like a genius.
From among a group of young, untried and mostly interchangeable parts up front, Anaheim Ducks coach Randy Carlyle needed to find a replacement for the left winger on his nominal top line, Chris Kunitz, who was out with a broken wrist.
Not much was working, chemistry-wise, since Kunitz's departure so with six days off between games, Carlyle tried something new — inserting Andrew Miller, an untried rookie with a rich hockey pedigree, into the line-up. Miller practised with Teemu Selanne and Andy McDonald for three days and Carlyle liked enough of what he saw that he gave Miller the chance to play in Monday night's opener against the Ottawa Senators.
And in the first period, with the Ducks down a goal, Miller — who is 23 and goes by Drew - rubbed out Ottawa defenceman Wade Redden on the boards with a big hit, jarring the puck loose. Selanne scooped it up and fed it over to McDonald and just like that, the Ducks were back in the game, tied at one apiece and they eventually went on to record a 3-2 victory over the Sens in the series opener. The momentum had switched, and they pushed the play from that point on until the end of the period - all because of a big, but clean, hit by a rookie who officially didn't even earn an assist on the play.
Related Information
- Anaheim Ducks
- Buffalo Sabres
- Calgary Flames
- Dallas Stars
- Minnesota Wild
- Montreal Canadiens
- Ottawa Senators
- Mike Fisher
- Ryan Getzlaf
- Kim Johnsson
- Chris Kunitz
- Brad May
- Andy McDonald
- Ryan Miller
- Travis Moen
- Rob Niedermayer
- Scott Niedermayer
- Wade Redden
- Teemu Selanne
The Ducks play a physical style and one of the necessary by-products is that they do spend a lot of time in the penalty box. That's where Scott Niedermayer was on Ottawa's first goal by Mike Fisher and that's where Ryan Getzlaf was for Ottawa's second goal by Redden.
There is a fine line between playing aggressive hockey and playing undisciplined hockey — and the Ducks crossed it far too often for their own good in the first 30 minutes. Gradually, though, they wore the Senators down and in the third period — in which Getzlaf and Travis Moen scored unanswered goals — their strategy paid off. It wasn't just Miller making the big hits either — Rob Niedermayer and Brad May were laying on the body as well, trying to soften up a Senators team that didn't show a lot of rust, despite a 10-day layoff.
Miller is from one of the first families of U.S. hockey. His three second cousins — Kip, Kevin and Kelly — all played in the National Hockey League, but Miller said they were more like uncles because of the age difference — almost 20 years between them. His older brother, Ryan Miller, plays goal for the Buffalo Sabres and saw a lot of the Senators in the last round. Ryan Miller was in the house watching his younger brother play Monday night and he'd passed on some observations about the Senators.
"He told me a few things, but nothing too big," said Miller, who added that while big brother Ryan was disappointed that the Sabres were out, he's excited and happy for me — and I'm excited for the chance to go for the Cup. He's my brother; there's no competition between us."
Miller is the 10th member of his family to play college hockey at Michigan State, including his grandfather, Butch, his father Dean and his uncle Lyle. He turned pro after his junior year of college and spent the year playing in the minors, before making his NHL debut against the Minnesota Wild in the opening round. Miller went in for Brad May, who was suspended three games for punching the Wild's Kim Johnsson. Miller mostly sat and watched his first NHL playoff game — officially, he played fewer than three minutes. He saw considerably more ice time Monday night on what was probably Anaheim's most dangerous line.
It was 21 years ago that another American with a famous name — Brett Hull — made his NHL debut in the Stanley Cup final for the Calgary Flames. The Flames inserted Hull for the third game of their series against the Montreal Canadiens and he hit the post on his first shot.
Had the Flames won the Cup that season, Hull's name would have been engraved on the Stanley Cup as a result of his one-game cameo in the final. As it was, Calgary lost in five and Hull waited another 13 years before he finally saw his name engraved on the Stanley Cup with the 1999 Dallas Stars.
So Miller is acutely aware of the opportunity facing him and his teammates. As a kid, he said he remembers watching Selanne play. Now Selanne is 36, in his 14th season and still looking for that elusive first Stanley Cup victory.
"It is a great opportunity," acknowledged Miller. "You often see some people making names for themselves in the playoffs."
And Monday night, in a small but important way, Miller started making his.
