I got nothin. But the previous thread was getting too long for a non-game night. So I figured I’d cut it off.

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With the Rangers practicing in Greenburgh Thursday, Marian Gaborik stayed off the ice for a third straight day because of a leg injury, and he sounded like a man resigned to the fact he’ll have to miss his scheduled homecoming in St. Paul.

If you’re a Minnesota Wild fan who coughed up a bunch of money to see Marian Gaborik’s return to St. Paul, sorry, you may be out of luck - and if you’re a Ranger fan hoping to see your best player get back in the lineup tomorrow, well, same deal, because Gaborik stayed off the ice again today and is less than optimistic about taking part in tomorrow night’s game in Minny.

Gaborik missed his first game of the season last night on the Island and the Rangers could have used him in a 3-1 loss to the Isles that did not make John Tortorella happy about the work ethic, or the production he’s getting from non-Gaboriks. Gaborik is hoping to skate tomorrow morning in St. Paul and will see how everything feels before making a final determination, but he sounded like a man disappointed that he won’t be able to play.

“I would love to play, obviously, but everything’s gonna be a matter of when I wake up, how are things feeling,” he said. “I would love to play for sure, but if I won’t be able to go, I won’t be able to go.”

Gaborik has a right leg issue that no one wants to be specific about, though he’s walking around fine without any brace or wrap. He said the collision that caused the injury on Monday happened in front of the Phoenix net, and that he took one more shift before heading off to the dressing room - thinking the injury was worse than it turned out to be.

“It’s not that serious. I thought it was going to be worse the way it felt,” he said. “But it’s not that serious. Have to make sure I do the right thing with it, treat it.”

Two other Rangers took a day off from skating, Christopher Higgins and Sean Avery, who are both “banged up,” Tortorella said. The coach was still bristling over the fact that the Rangers were outworked on the Island last night, and his belief that they need to be a tougher team to play against - from a physical standpoint that stems from “a mental toughness that we need to develop.”

“It’s a matter of consistency. It’s not the X’s and O’s part of it, it’s the mental approach. That’s my frustrating thought after last night’s game,” Torts said. “I thought we played a stiff game against Phoenix, did a lot of good things that we made some corrections on, and played harder, and against the Islanders, for most of that game - not just the start, but after watching it, for most of that game - that game was won by a team that played harder than the other team. That’s what frustrating, because that’s something you can control.”

Tortorella deserves much of the blame

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