Of all the the things that went right for the New York Rangers a season ago, and there were many, there was one component of the team that went indisputably wrong. Marian Gaborik—who provided inspirational play during the 2009-2010 season, scoring 42 goals despite being the only Rangers player on the ice that opposing coaches were concerned with—was almost non-existent during the 2010-2011 season and into the playoffs.
Gaborik did of course miss 20 games last season due to various injuries; however, when you break his numbers down in terms of per game averages the year over year comparison is stunning.
In 2009-2010, Gaborik average 1.13 points per game (PPG) and included in that number was a .55 goals per game (GPG) average. That .55 GPG number, of course, translated into the 42 goals we mentioned earlier, an amount that was more than double the next highest scoring player on the team, Vinny Prospal, who chipped in 20.
In 2010-2011, Gaborik's PPG number fell considerably, to .77 to be exact. His GPG fell to .35 per game, and even if Gaborik had not played the 14 less games than he did the year before he still would have been ro ...
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Article written by Joseph Browne
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