Evaluating Gaborik’s Defensive Side

from Larry Brooks of the NY Post, “Fair; fair,” was the way John Tortorella responded yesterday when the head coach was asked for his evaluation of Gaborik’s play on the defensive side of the puck. “It’s a process with him. You have to be careful with creative guys to be able to tell the difference between cheating and anticipation. You have to be really careful not to take away what makes them who they are,” Tortorella said. Gaborik, dangerous whenever he’s on the ice, has scored eight goals, one off the NHL lead through Saturday shared by Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrick Marleau. The right wing has scored in two straight games, including Saturday’s outrageously nifty breakaway goal in Montreal against Jaroslav Halak. But Gaborik also was cited doing a fair amount of neutral-zone hanging in the 5-4 overtime defeat. more