Gaborik told Larry Brooks the obvious, that he was far from 100% last night:

“It’s not the way I wanted to be, but it should be better and better every game,” said Gaborik, who mustered three shots in 20:08. “If I get my legs back, it’s going to be way better.”

“I definitely need to take it to another level and the team [does] as well to make a hard push,” said Gaborik, who gets his next chance tonight at the Garden against Buffalo. “We had chances, but you have to get a goal to win.”

…Its such a tough spot for him. He is at his best when he can blow by other players with his speed and fire off his incredible shot. With his legs not under him, he needs to wait for someone to create for him and to then fire a shot off the pass. It happened with Prospal last night and its not the best way for him to contribute.

Original Post: 9:30AM: Marian Gaborik returned to the Rangers lineup last night and played 20:08.

He had three shots and took a penalty at the end of the game.

…He whiffed on a great powerplay chance from Vinny Prospal and seemed a little labored. His shots didn’t have much on them but he was still nice to see out there.

He should be a little better tonight against Buffalo.