"That's where he belongs": Canucks move Miller back to centre

After two weeks on the wing, J.T. Miller is a centre again.

According to Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy, Miller was centring a line at Vancouver Canucks practice in Ottawa, skating between Tanner Pearson and Brock Boeser, who looks likely to return to the lineup.

Boeser wearing red jersey in Ottawa with Miller and Pearson.
Bo w/ Garland, Pods.
EP40’s line remains same.
88, 18, and 81 in white.

🐷 and 15 are extras. #canucks

— Dan Murphy (@sportsnetmurph) November 7, 2022

Miller had a terrible start to the season, while playing centre, but has caught fire since moving to the wing on October 24. The 29-year-old has nine points in his last six games, including five on the power play.

But head coach Bruce Boudreau is looking to balance his lines.

“That’s where he belongs. We need more balance,” Boudreau told reporters this morning. “He wanted to play back [in] the middle. Initially he just wanted to get his game going. He wasn’t thinking he was skating well enough, but now he thinks he is where he should be, and get back in the middle, where I want him.”

Miller played primarily as a centre last season, and had a career year. But to start this season he looked out of place in the middle, responsible for a number of defensive gaffes.

After being a healthy scratch last game, Vasily Podkolzin looks likely to return to the lineup, in favour of Nils Höglander, on a line with Bo Horvat and Conor Garland.

“Sometimes a guy needs a reset,” Boudreau explained. “You hate doing it to young guys but sometimes they’re the ones that learn the most.”

“Pods’ effort and his care is always there. You’ll never have to worry about that.”

Boeser is still looking for his first goal of the season, and hasn’t played since October 22. He’s been waiting for a scar on his hand to heal.

“It’s day-to-day until he gets the clearance for full play,” Boudreau said.

In setting his new lines, Boudreau is hoping that past success can carry over to this season. Miller played well with Boeser and Pearson last season, while Horvat has experience playing with Garland and Podkolzin.

“You’re pretty solidified in Petey’s line,” Boudreau said, referring to the trio of Elias Pettersson, Ilya Mikheyev, and Andrei Kuzmenko. “We went back to the successful line, if Boeser plays, with [Miller] and Pearson… Bo played with Garland last year, and a lot with Pods. And he can talk to him.”

The Canucks begin a stretch of five road games in eight days on Tuesday, with games in Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Boston, and Buffalo.

Vancouver is 3-6-3 this season, which is the Canucks’ worst record after 12 games in 21 years.

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