MARIAN GABORIK

dec. 20, 2007 minnesota 6, ny rangers 3

IN THE WORDS OF veteran MSG playby-play announcer Sam Rosen, “It’s Marian Gaborik Night in St. Paul!”

That’s what Rosen said when Gaborik scored his franchise-record fifth goal and sixth point during a 6-3 pounding of the Rangers. “Shades of Pavel Bure,” said Wild teammate Mark Parrish after the game. It was the NHL’s first five-goal game in nearly 11 years. Gaborik was so wired that he couldn’t sleep that night: “You’re in some kind of zone. After the game, you keep thinking about it, how it happened, what led to it. You try to pinch yourself to see if it’s real.”