Hopkins' K'Andre Miller gets first taste of playing Wild at Xcel Energy Center with Rangers

K'Andre Miller already has plenty of milestones not even two full seasons into his NHL career, including a historic performance with the Rangers as a rookie.

But the 22-year-old defenseman experienced a first Tuesday: competing at Xcel Energy Center against the Wild, the team the Hopkins native cheered for as a kid.

"I know my family's all really excited to come out and be here with me and support me," Miller told reporters on Monday. "Obviously, they've been through it all with me. Just to share that moment with them, it's going to be really special."

Miller's journey to Minnesota to play the Wild has been jam-packed with new challenges.

After playing two years at Minnetonka High School, he went to the USA Hockey National Team Development Program before getting drafted in the first round by New York (22nd overall) in 2018 — this after he switched positions from forward to defense only two years earlier.

Then, following two seasons at Wisconsin, Miller turned pro and has been a mainstay with the Rangers since he debuted last year.

Not only did he average 21 minutes, 7 seconds of ice time last season, which is the most by a Rangers rookie who has played a minimum of 30 games since the NHL began tracking ice time in 1997, but Miller also led all NHL rookie defensemen in goals (five) while tying for second in plus-minus (nine) and tying for third in points (12).

He recorded the shootout winner last month against Boston in his first career attempt and had the game-winning goal with 34 seconds to go vs. Seattle in January.

"Obviously, you just try and get better each day you stand on the ice," said Miller, who recalled taking a ride on the Zamboni when he was 9 years old as one of the few times he's been on the ice inside Xcel Energy Center. "I think just taking those baby steps; it's not going to be an overnight thing. I think just coming to the rink, finding the thing you need to work on and breaking down your game like that is the best way to improve."

Jordan Greenway was back in the lineup Tuesday after missing six games because of an upper-body injury.

"It's frustrating, for sure, especially with some of the results that we've had the last couple of weeks," Greenway said of his absence, which coincided with a 1-5 skid for the Wild.

The winger's return put the team at full strength for the first time since Dec. 16.

With Greenway suiting up, the Wild had to sit a forward and chose Connor Dewar.

This was the first time the rookie was scratched since a late December call-up from the minors; he rattled off 23 consecutive games while chipping in two goals and three assists.