Gaborik Named PLayer of the Week
Six Point Night vs Coyotes Earns Gaborik Top Player Honors
by Chris Thompson

Published: October 28, 2002

MINNESOTA'S MARIAN GABORIK NAMED NHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

NEW YORK (Oct. 28, 2002) -- Minnesota Wild 20-year-old left wing Marian Gaborik, whose scoring exploits have helped the third-year club reach the top of the National Hockey League's overall standings, has been has been named NHL Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, Oct. 27.

Gaborik led all League scorers with eight points (three goals, five assists) in four games, including the first six-point game by a player his age in over a decade (see below). Gaborik edged New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur (3-0-0, 1.00 goals-against average), Pittsburgh Penguins forward Alexei Kovalev (five goals, one assist in three games) and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis (three goals, three assists in four games) for the award.

Gaborik tallied two points (one goal, one assist) in Minnesota's 4-3 overtime home victory against Calgary on Oct. 22 and set a franchise record with six points (two goals, four assists) in a 6-1 victory at Phoenix on Oct. 26. The Wild ended the week taking five of six points on a three-game road trip.

The Wild have a 6-1-2-0 record for 14 points, ranking first in the League's overall standings, while Gaborik ranks third in the League in scoring with 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in nine games.

The club carries a four-game unbeaten streak (three victories, one tie) into a homestand this week at sold-out Xcel Energy Center, against Western Conference rivals Colorado Avalanche (Tuesday), San Jose Sharks (Thursday) and Vancouver Canucks (Saturday). The Wild have played to a capacity crowd in each of the 87 home games in franchise history.

ON GABORIK'S SIX-POINT GAME....

* Gaborik (20 years, 254 days on Saturday) is the youngest player to score as many as six points in an NHL game since Quebec's Owen Nolan (20 years, 22 days) tallied one goal and five assists in a 10-4 victory over Hartford on March 5, 1992.

* Gaborik is just the sixth player in the past six seasons to tally six points in a game:

Date......Score...........................Player..........G-A-Pts
1/8/98....Montreal 8 at NY Islanders 2....Brian Savage....4-2--6 3/3/99....Colorado 7 at Florida 5.........Peter Forsberg..3-3--6 10/4/99...Chicago 1 at San Jose 7.........Owen Nolan......3-3--6 12/30/99..NY Islanders 3 at Pittsburgh 9..Jaromir Jagr....3-4--7 1/4/01....Tampa Bay 3 at Ottawa 8.........Radek Bonk......3-3--6 10/26/02..Minnesota 6 at Phoenix 1........Marian Gaborik..2-4