Gaborik said he still hopes to return to the lineup during the four-game homestand. The Rangers host the Sabres on Thursday and the Oilers on Sunday and tonight could be the 12th and last game he misses.
“It felt good and it’s fun to be getting more and more with the boys out there and with drills other than skating,” Gaborik said. “I’ll see how it feels and go day to day. It’s important to be in battles so I’m not afraid to go in the corners.”
You’d think that if Gaborik was feeling nervous about going into corners he might be a bit further off from getting on the ice. Perhaps that’s just him having flashbacks to the hit he took from Colby Armstrong that put him out. Jesse Spector from the New York Daily News finds out that Gaborik has a timetable set for getting back on the ice.
“I’m shooting for Thursday or Sunday,” said Gaborik, naming possible return dates for the first time. “I’ll know after practice tomorrow or the next day how everything goes. It’s either Thursday or Sunday.”
Getting Gaborik back in the lineup will be huge for the Rangers who could use a little bit of a boost offensively. They’ve been getting stunning offensive work from Brandon Dubinsky so far this season as he’s one of the surprising league leaders in goals scored. The Rangers are hoping to find some consistency and Gaborik should help towards that at least on the offensive side of things as the Rangers alternate between being able to score enough to win or not scoring at all.