Minnesota Wild defeat New York Rangers, 3-2

ST. PAUL - It was bad weather in Minneapolis that caused Dane Byers to arrive hours off schedule for the Rangers' game Friday night against the Minnesota Wild.

So what was the rest of the Rangers' excuse?

Sure, there are injuries to point to (not that any of the Rangers did), but that's not enough to explain a second straight sluggish, mistake-prone start over 40 minutes that sent the Rangers on their way to a 3-2 loss to Minnesota and their fifth defeat in six games (1...

The last time the Rangers paid a visit to Minnesota, the game turned into the Marian Gaborik Show. It was Dec. 20, 2007, and Gaborik, then wearing the green and red of the Wild, torched Henrik Lundqvist and Co. for five goals in a 6-3 rout, batting pucks out of the air, leaving Rangers in his wake on breakaways and, by the end, being triumphantly carried off the ice by teammates.

A memory like that is one reason tonight was supposed to have special meaning for Gaborik, ...