New Rangers captain J.T. Miller makes feelings known after suffering shutout loss in season opener vs. Penguins

Newly appointed Rangers captain J.T. Miller vented his frustration after New York’s 3-0 season-opening loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.

Miller, who was named the 29th captain in franchise history in September, spoke candidly after the game, admitting the team wasn’t at its best.

"I don't know, it's hard to say. We certainly, I don't think it was our best. They outplayed us for the majority of the game.” Miller said (Timestamp 0:08 onwards). “I think we had some good moments in the game, I thought. But I think what we're trying to get to was better than what we showed today. But on the other side of that, is the first game. I know we're going to be better."

When asked about his own play after limited preseason action, Miller admitted he didn’t feel great.

"Legs are heavy today. Haven't had a whole lot of reps,but that'll come with time. So, I know it'll be better next game as well." he added.

Justin Brazeau scored twice and Blake Lizotte added goals for Pittsburgh. Arturs Silovs stopped all 25 shots. Igor Shesterkin has 27 saves in the loss for New York.

Game recap: Rangers 3-0 shutout loss against Penguins

Justin Brazeau opened the scoring late in the first period to give the Penguins a 1–0 lead at 19:28. After Evgeni Malkin won an offensive-zone faceoff, he retrieved the puck and set up Brazeau, who lifted a backhand shot high into the net.

Brazeau added his second of the night with an empty-netter at 2:12 remaining in the third to make it 2–0. Then, Blake Lizotte added another empty-net goal just 20 seconds later to seal the win 3–0.

The victory also spoiled Mike Sullivan’s coaching debut behind New York bench. Sullivan took over as the Rangers’ head coach on May 2.

"I think my first observation is, we got a long way to go to become the team we want to become. I thought we had moments in the game where we were playing the game that we envisioned... but it's not nearly consistently enough," Sullivan said after the game.

The New York Rangers will look to rebound when they visit the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday at KeyBank Center.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash