NHL

Gaborik hurt at Rangers practice

Marion Gaborik had to be helped off the ice during Rangers practice this morning after he sustained a deep laceration of his right thigh.

Gaborik skated in on Henrik Lundqvist during one-on-one drills and was cut by a skate blade when he tried to leap over the lunging goalie, who was trying to poke-check the puck.

Gaborik fell to the ice where he laid down for a minute then skated to the bench on his own before teammates had to help him off the ice.

“Hopefully it’s not too bad,” Lundqvist said. “He was flexing his leg.”

He was seen visibly limping, not putting pressure on his right leg. Gaborik received medical treatment and was not in the locker room after practice.

Gaborik is questionable for tomorrow night’s game against the Predators, the first of three matches for the Rangers before Monday’s two-week Olympic Break. Gaborik is on Slovakia’s roster for the games in Vancouver.

“It would be a guess, and I’d rather not guess,” assistant coach Jim Schoenfeld said, asked if Gaborik would be in the lineup.

Head coach John Tortorella was not at today’s practice. He was attending the funeral of Brendan Burke, the youngest son of Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke.

“Basically we were working on the shootout drills and they had a collision,” Schoenfeld said. “There is a laceration on Marion’s leg. He is being stitched as we speak.”