WASHINGTON — Marian Gaborik returned and, with that, both head coach John Tortorella and the Rangers fell into familiar patterns that concluded in a 2-0 loss here last night to the Capitals.
Given the opportunity to heap ice time on his top two lines with his lone elite goal-scorer in the lineup for the first time in four games, Tortorella couldn’t resist, especially through the second half of the second period, during which the coach pretty much went with six forwards.
No longer did Tortorella feel the need to roll lines, as he was almost forced into doing for the previous three games, during which the Blueshirts scored 13 goals. Nope, not with Gaborik back at his disposal, even if obviously not quite himself, skating almost gingerly with a sore groin that’s not fully healed.
“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.”
Tortorella heaped time on Gaborik, but not praise. Obviously chapped that the Rangers’ most important skater suffered his injury while playing at less than 100 percent for Slovakia at the Olympics, Tortorella was terse when asked what he thought of No. 10’s game.
“I don’t know what I think,” said the coach. “He has to be better.”
Even though the Blueshirts limited the league’s highest scoring team to fewer than three goals for the first time in Washington’s last 24 games, the Rangers had to be better. Conservative on the forecheck, the Blueshirts generated little pressure against Jose Theodore, who made 30 saves, but only one memorable stop.
That came at 5:30 of the second when Theodore stopped Brandon Dubinsky’s backhand from the slot to preserve a 1-0 lead after the Blueshirts winger benefited from of an egregious turnover by Shaone Morrisonn.
“I had some time, made the move I wanted to and thought I froze him enough,” Dubinsky said. “But [Theodore] found the way to get the shaft of his stick on it.”
The Caps had gained their 1-0 lead at 10:56 of the first on Eric Fehr’s right-post putaway on a five-on-three power play. It not only marked the second straight game that the Blueshirts had yielded a goal while two men short, it represented the fifth, five-on-three goal-against in the last 16 games.
Sean Avery took the initial penalty, an offensive zone hook, 15 seconds before Marc Staal was called for holding the stick. The penalty against Avery was, as Tortorella noted, one of three the team took in the offensive zone, though the coach cited only Avery by name. What a surprise.
Goalie Alex Auld was fine in making his first start for the Rangers, helpless on the first and with little chance on Eric Belanger’s quick wrist from in front at 13:38 of the second after he’d slipped behind the defense and Dubinsky.
“We fell asleep on the second goal,” Tortorella said. “We had two or three guys not ready.”
Olli Jokinen was invisible throughout. Chris Drury didn’t get enough ice time. Leaning on six forwards was counter-productive.
“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.”