Allan Muir at SI.com says Marian Gaborik's willingness to drop the gloves against a known enforcer should be something the Rangers rally around...
"And Gaborik, well, he demonstrated his level of commitment to the guys in the room. When the team's leading scorer is willing to answer the bell, that sets the bar for every guy wearing the sweater. This could end up being one of those galvanizing moments that defines the season for the Rangers."
...with all the whining and complaining I've been doing around here I've definitely been remiss in mentioning the props that Gaborik deserves for dropping the gloves with Carcillo. I think a message that was also sent Thursday night, besides the Rangers being soft, is that Gaborik is willing to do whatever it takes to win even if that means taking on one of the better brawlers in the league. If the Rangers can't take motivation from that this team is doomed.
Muir also criticizes Tortorella for matching up Gaborik's line with Carcillo's after the icing leading up to the incident. Going as far as saying in-game management isn't his strongest suit.
...Torts shouldn't be criticized at all for the move. The Rangers were doing absolutely nothing offensively at the time and Torts saw a matchup he could expose. That's a move Torts should make every time.
TSN has numerous quotes from Carcillo on the incident with Gaborik including this one on whether he thought a Ranger player should have stepped in...
"Yes, but I don't know which one of his linemates would have really done much. [Brandon] Dubinsky, we've fought before, he could have jumped in."
Carcillo adds that the only reason he fought was because Gaborik dropped the gloves first and that if a player like Sean Avery was fighting Danny Briere he would have jumped in.
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