Big NHL betting news on the injury front, and it ain’t good…

Oh, to be a Minnesota Wild fan…or anyone who likes to bet online on the them.  It has to be tough knowing you’ve got one of the most naturally gifted players on Earth — Marian Gaborik — on your team, but he’s never healthy enough to play. After playing just a few games this year, he’s pretty much shut down for the year, as he’s scheduled to have hip surgery Monday and miss 10 weeks. NHL betting fans will likely steer clearly of picking Minny for the most part now.

Gaborik was one of the top two trading chips likely to be available at the trade deadline. What now? Atlanta has to be rejoicing, as Ilya Kovalchuk’s value inflates even more. (My prediction - Atlanta duplicates last year’s Hossa deal and ships him to Pittsburgh for, say, Jordan Staal, Alex Goglioski and a first-rounder…I’d bet online on it happening). The Leafs have to be happy too, as they’ll have a better chance at marketing Nik Antropov as a “first-line talent.”

Gaborik is a member of the rare five-goal game club. Another man in that club? Mario Lemieux. SI.com posted this video today featuring Mario scoring five goals, five different ways (even strength, shorthanded, power play, penalty shot, empty net) in one game, 20 years ago. Pretty cool stuff: Would’ve made for a nice exotics betting win.