October 27, 2009, Phoenix Coyotes-New York Rangers game story for Metro (NY) Newspaper
Gaborik gashes PHX
5 Rangers / 2 Phoenix
What we saw last night at MSG:
1 Mr. October — Another night, another all-everything game from Marian Gaborik. The Slovakian right wing was thoroughly dominant, recording two goals and an assist. Gaborik is tied with LA’s Anze Kopitar for the league lead in goals with 10.
2 Sidekick — Vinny Prospal was Robin to Gaborik’s Batman. Perhaps one of the most underrated free-agent signees, the center finished with a goal and two assists.
3 Keeping the door open — Ilya Bryzgalov was pulled for ex-Ranger Jason LaBarbera after Gaborik’s second goal put the Blueshirts up 4-0 in the second. Phoenix immediately took away the neutral zone after the goalie swap and began to implement a successful forecheck. It led to two goals to cut the lead in half at the second intermission. The Coyotes failed to capitalize, though, on three third-period power plays.
There were less than eight minutes remaining in the third period when Enver Lisin formally introduced himself to the worshipers that populate 2 Penn Plaza on a nightly basis.
Lisin sprinted into the offensive zone and fired a bullet from the right faceoff circle that froze Jason LaBarbera for the final goal in the Rangers’ 5-2 win over Phoenix Monday night at The Garden.
A little more than 20 minutes after the Rangers’ 55-out-of-60 minute effort, the third-year Russian right wing was surrounded by cameras and notepads, all wanting to know about his two point night. So were his coaches and teammates.
“Lease is a talented player and he is getting better and better at the other part of the game,” Tortorella said of Lisin, who was acquired in a July 13 trade with Phoenix for one-time Ranger prospect Lauri Korpikowski. “He is certainly showing a willingness to hit, to get hit, to make a play. There is some upside there.”
It doesn’t hurt that Lisin is skating on the Rangers’ top line with Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal. The trio combined for eight points (four goals, four assists) and was plus-3. Perhaps one of the most underrated signings of the free-agency period, Prospal finished with a goal, two assists, three points on four shots in 14:24 of ice time.
“I think he has done very well with two creative players,” Tortorella added.
Gaborik was thoroughly dominant, recording two goals and an assist, before leaving late in the third with a lower body injury. He is tied with LA’s Anze Kopitar for the league lead in goals with 10 and trails the Kings’ star forward by three points for the overall league. The right wing limped off the ice. Tortorella said that the decision was made to shut the right wing down because “the game was in hand,” and he had not spoken with the trainers about Gaborik’s status.
“It’s nothing related to my groin or hip or torso. We’ll see how everything is in the morning. I collided with one of their players, but it’s nothing major. It happened with about five minutes left and the game was pretty much over,” Gaborik said.
The Rangers jumped out to a 4-0 lead midway in the first 27:14 thanks to goals by Artem Anisimov, Gaborik and Prospal.. Following Gaborik’s second of the game, a laser from under the left faceoff circle, Phoenix pulled starter Ilya Bryzgalov (four goals allowed on 11 shots) for Jason LaBarbera (one goal allowed on 13 shots). The Coyotes also tightened up in the neutral zone, forced turnovers and implemented a successful forecheck which led to goals from Ed Jovanovski and Vernon Fiddler which cut the Rangers’ lead to 4-2 after two.
“We had a little bit of a let down there and they got two on us there,” said Ryan Callahan, who threw four hits and blocked four shots in 18:51 of his usual Tasmanian Devil style of play.
Before the start of the third, television cameras showed Tortorella and assistant coach Mike Sullivan on the bench before the players came out. When asked what Tortorella had told the team, Callahan said, “He said ‘we know what we need to do’ and that was just go out there and limit their chances.”
It is fair to wonder if the Rangers are a legitimate contender or if they are something less, after improving to 7-3-1. In seven October games against potential playoff teams, the Rangers are 3-3-1, including going 0-2-1 last week against San Jose, New Jersey and Montreal. During that losing streak, the Sharks, Devils and Canadiens outscored the Rangers 16-9. The Rangers will cap off the month by traveling to Long Island on Wednesday and Minnesota on Friday.
posted by Denis P. Gorman at 11:12 AM
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