October 14, 2009, Los Angeles Kings-New York Rangers game story for Metro (NY) Newspaper
King me: Gaborik, Rangers win 6th straight
Rangers 4, Kings 2
What we saw last night at MSG ...
1 Gaborik’s monster goal — Marian Gaborik is fast becoming the Rangers’ most dominant young scorer since Rod Gilbert in the ’60s. With the Rangers desperately holding onto a 3-2 lead early in the third, Gaborik controlled a pass that was behind him, skated into the Los Angeles zone and whipped a wicked wrister from the right faceoff dot that beat Erik Ersberg to put the game on ice.
2 Powerful — One of the Rangers’ primary flaws last season was an impotent power play. They improved to 9-for-34 on the man-advantage after two first period goals last night. Their
26 percent conversion rate ranks in the top 10.
3 Worth the time — John Tortorella said fourth-line center Brian Boyle “was worth teaching here.” Indeed. Boyle put the Rangers up 3-1 in the second. Denis Gorman
When the Rangers agreed to terms with Marian Gaborik on July 1, the announcement was met with raised eyebrows and snickers. The consensus was that Glen Sather overpaid for an injury-prone forward.
And while seven matches into the 82-game marathon is a microcosmic sample size, Gaborik has begun to pay dividends for the Rangers.
Gaborik’s spectacular third period goal gave the Rangers a 4-2 win over the Kings at the Garden Wednesday night. It was the Rangers’ sixth win in a row following an opening night loss in Pittsburgh. The Rangers will be in Toronto on Saturday for a Hockey Night in Canada encounter. The next home game is Monday night when the Rangers host Western Conference contender San Jose.
The Rangers lead the NHL with 28 goals scored. Gaborik has six goals—all in third periods— and 11 points. He has recorded a point in every game this season.
Gaborik is the kind of dominant young scoring forward that the Rangers had not had since Rod Gilbert back in the '60s. With the Rangers desperately holding onto a 3-2 lead 4:22 into the third, Gaborik controlled a Vinny Prospal pass that was behind him while managing to stay on-side. He skated down the boards and whipped a wicked wrister from the right faceoff dot that beat Erik Ersberg for the game-clinching goal.
Afterward, the platitudes flowed from both rooms..
“That goal was world class and it came at the right time. That is what a world class player does. They step up at the right time,” said Henrik Lundqvist, who had a pretty good night in his own right, stopping 34 of 36 shots.
“That’s where the game breakers make it, huh?” offered Rangers coach John Tortorella. “That was just a great shot. Third period is crunch time and he makes another big play tonight. He’s that guy you that you need to make a big play at a key time. Early in the season he has done that for us.”
“He has already done that a bunch of nights this year. He gets the ones around the net (and) banging in rebounds. He gets those big goals,” Chris Drury said.
“The Rangers have a dynamic team. That goal that Gaborik scored is a world class kind of goal,” marveled Kings head coach Terry Murray. “You give those great players a little bit of space to make plays and they make it happen.
Early, it was the Vinny Prospal Show. Prospal, who was signed to one-year deal in August, tallied two power-play goals in the first. His first was the 200th goal of his NHL career. Prospal’s goals were sandwiched around a Ryan Smyth tip at 4:21 into the first, which tied the game at one.
Tortorella praised Brian Boyle in the pregame, saying that the fourth line center “has improved. He has improved in all facets of his game. We’re still kind of figuring where he fits as we go through, but I think he’s worth teaching here. He’s certainly improved.”
It must have been kismet as Boyle recorded his first goal of the season with a second period wrister that pinballed off of LA netminder Erik Ersberg and the post, to push the Rangers’ lead to 3-1.
But as has been the case in the last two games, the Rangers struggled during the second. Following Boyle’s goal, the Kings took a page out of the Rangers’ book. Los Angeles clogged the neutral zone and the Rangers did not have a shot for more than 10 minutes. Defensively, the Rangers were unable to clear the puck, allowing Los Angeles to pepper Lundqvist for 14 shots. However, Lundqvist only yielded Michal Handzus’ power-play deflection during the barrage.
posted by Denis P. Gorman at 9:13 AM
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