Laviolette chose to keep the K’Andre Miller-Borgen duo together, then opted to keep Braden Schneider on the third pair, partnering him with Zac Jones, who entered the lineup. Laviolette said the familiarity Jones and Schneider have from playing with each other so much over the past few seasons played a part in his thinking.

A whole book could be written about the Rangers’ 2024-25 season considering all that has happened already, but new chapters just keep getting added.

Life after Adam Fox begins Friday ... That left Fox's usual partner, Ryan Lindgren, to team with Urho Vaakanainen in a lefty-lefty duo that will force the latter to shift to his off-hand side.

The Rangers emerged from the trade deadline in better shape than before, but there is more hard work to be done.

The New York Rangers made an under-the-radar move on Friday, re-signing defenseman Urho Vaakanainen to a two-year contract.

It also whetted his appetite for more best-on-best hockey. Miro Heiskanen, Rasmus Ristolainen and Jani Hakanpää all missed the 4 Nations to injury, so competition for the Finnish Olympic roster will be more fierce. Vaakanainen acquitted himself well enough to at least be on the bubble, though.

K’Andre Miller landed on injured reserve in December with an upper-body injury before returning later that month, too — and he also exited Tuesday’s game. Ryan Lindgren, Fox’s partner on the Blueshirts’ top pairing, missed the start of the season.

K’Andre Miller left with a lower-body injury after only two second-period shifts, with Adam Fox following him ... Braden Schneider and Urho Vaakanainen. "I thought they were all solid.