Player Profile: Marian Gaborik

Marian Gaborik grabs a stick off the bench and you check to see if he leaves a trail of sawdust from squeezing it too hard.

There are names for what Gaborik is going through right now: a rut, a drought, and, the five-letter word that actually is hockey's version of a four-letter word: a slump.

Gaborik tries to act cool and cavalier about it, but even he is counting.

"Twelve games, right?" he said.

Yes, 12 games since Gaborik scored a goal. He vividly remembers the last one, a dramatic tying goal with 2.6 seconds left in regulation against Anaheim on Jan. 23. Since then, everything has been a blur, a hazy succession of goal posts, goalie pads and near misses.

"I know nothing has gone in for a long time," Gaborik said.

Twelve games is nothing for third-line checkers and fourth-line pluggers. But for Gaborik -- a third overall draft pick and the team's leading goal-scorer with 18 -- a dozen games seems like forever.

"Everybody has slumps," Gaborik said. "It happens."

But not to Gaborik. He once went 16 games without a goal, but that was back when he was a kid in Slovakia. Before this slump, Gaborik's longest stretch without a goal this season was seven games, but he had four assists during that span. During this drought, Gaborik not only is not scoring, but he isn't producing either -- he has only two assists in the past 12 games.

"The thing is, I've been getting chances to score, they just haven't gone in," Gaborik said. "You can't just put your head down. You have to keep working hard, doing what you can and hope that you get a crazy goal or something -- something off a skate and then you can relax and get your confidence back."

Keeping Gaborik relaxed and confident has become top priority for Wild coach Jacques Lemaire, who could run a clinic on keeping pressure away from players. When asked about Gaborik after Monday's practice, Lemaire acted as if someone just asked him where he kept his credit cards. He all but flat-out said that he wouldn't talk about Gaborik's slump.

Finally, he gave in: "Look," Lemaire said, "he's 19 years old."

Actually, Gaborik turned 20 during the Olympic break, but Lemaire's point is taken. Gaborik is a kid by NHL standards, and kids often struggle. Even talented ones.

But when asked how Gaborik was playing despite not scoring, Lemaire was a little cooler: "He could play better."

Then Lemaire added, "I know it's been a while [since he scored], but you know it's coming."

The question for Gaborik is when? He has tried breaking up his routine -- eating various pregame meals, dressing a different way -- anything to change his luck. He's stuck on 18 goals (the same number he scored last season) and tries not to think about going the rest of the season without a goal.

And there's another number sticking out in Gaborik's mind. It's the number 20. If Gaborik can get to 20 goals, a sizable bonus on his contract kicks in.

"The thing for me is, I want the team to win," Gaborik said. "First, I have to play hard. . . . If I do that, the goals are going to come. I just have to be smarter and play the game."

Scoring a goal wouldn't be a bad thing either.

-- Tom Jones is at

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