RALEIGH, N.C. — The Rangers are awaiting results on a neurological examination conducted yesterday afternoon in New York on Marian Gaborik, who was diagnosed with a concussion on Sunday.
The club remains uncertain exactly how the winger suffered the injury, though The Post has learned that Gaborik has told teammates and management he believed it occurred Feb. 13 on a hit from Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpik during the Blueshirts’ 5-3 victory at the Garden.
The official game sheet has two Orpik hits on Gaborik recorded, one at 14:45 of the second period and the other 1:42 into the third. Gaborik also took a hard hit 5:29 into that match from Tim Wallace that drew a response from Brandon Prust.
The Rangers reviewed the video of that match after Gaborik exited this past Sunday’s game against the Flyers following the first period and was subsequently diagnosed with a concussion, but were unable to find conclusive evidence of what caused the injury.
Neither coach John Tortorella nor trainer Jim Ramsay was given reason to believe that Gaborik was impaired until the first intermission of the 4-2 defeat to the Flyers.
“Gabby came off the ice [after practice last] Tuesday and just didn’t feel good, [but] we weren’t sure if it was the flu or whatever it may be,” coach John Tortorella said following the morning skate that preceded last night’s 4-3 shootout victory over the Hurricanes. “Then he played the two games against L.A. and Jersey [Thursday and Friday] and there were no problems.
“He came to me after the first period after our last game against Philly — actually I brought him in to show him a couple of clips to try and do a little teaching — and he said he was having problems concentrating, and I said, ‘You’ve got to go see Rammer (Ramsay).’
“My policy is that Rammer makes the call in those types of situations. I don’t want to hear percentages, I just want to hear yes or no. And Rammer told me no.
“That’s how it went.”
Gaborik played a forceful game against the Kings, scoring his 17th goal on a knuckleball of a wrist shot. He was all but invisible the following night in Newark, but that hasn’t been an uncommon occurrence this season for the Rangers’ lone legitimate first-line player.
Indeed, Gaborik, who scored 42 goals a year ago in his first season on Broadway, has scored in just 10 of the 47 games in which he’s played. He has accumulated 10 goals in three games with hat tricks against the Oilers on Nov. 14 and the Islanders on Dec. 2 and a four-goal explosion against the Maple Leafs on Jan. 19.
Gaborik, who missed 12 games with a separated shoulder early in the year plus another with the flu just before Christmas, had scored one goal every 2.25 games over the previous five seasons.
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Ruslan Fedotenko (shoulder/appendectomy), who has missed the last 14 games, is extremely doubtful for Friday’s match in Washington but could return Sunday at home against Tampa Bay if his conditioning improves.
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The NHL is negotiating with the KHL to have the Rangers open next season with two regular-season games in Russia, according to a published report. It previously had been believed the club would open with one game in Stockholm and one in another European location, perhaps London.
The Blueshirts, who will not be able to play at the Garden until early November in each of the next two seasons because of the ongoing renovation — er, transformation — of the building, are likely to play several exhibition games in Europe, perhaps in Russia as well.
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Though Sean Avery and Brandon Prust, who working on a line centered by Kris Newbury combined to give the Blueshirts a 1-0 lead at 2:08 of the first period when Prust banged in Avery’s rebound, were effective on each turn, Tortorella gave the unit just two shifts in the third, the last ending with over 10 minutes to play. Avery finished with 8:01 of ice time while Prust, who saw penalty-killing time, played 10:42.
Coaching with his heart rather than his eyes, however, Tortorella gave Vinny Prospal 17:11 in the team’s fourth game in six nights. Prospal, who worked left wing on a line with Erik Christensen and Brian Boyle, who shifted to the right, had the third most ice time among forwards through two periods, his 12:19 trailing only Ryan Callahan‘s 15:13 and Wojtek Wolski‘s 12:33.
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Christensen was stopped on the shootout for the first time after going 4-for-4, and Mats Zuccarello was denied for the second time in seven tries. . . . The Blueshirts poured 46 shots on Cam Ward, the fifth time in the last eight games they have recorded 35 shots or more.
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Henrik Lundqvist, though sharp throughout, surrendered at least three goals for the ninth time in his past 11 starts, surrendering three nine times and four goals twice.
“I have to find a way to be one goal better,” Lundqvist said.