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New Jersey Devils: Ilya Kovalchuk Return One Of Many Storylines Versus Canadiens

By Vincent Parise

MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 01: Ilya Kovalchuk (17) of the Montreal Canadiens tends net during the third period of the NHL game between the Florida Panthers and the Montreal Canadiens on February 1, 2020, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 01: during the third period of the NHL game between the Florida Panthers and the Montreal Canadiens on February 1, 2020, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 01: Ilya Kovalchuk (17) of the Montreal Canadiens tends net during the third period of the NHL game between the Florida Panthers and the Montreal Canadiens on February 1, 2020, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 01: during the third period of the NHL game between the Florida Panthers and the Montreal Canadiens on February 1, 2020, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk had an ugly divorce back in 2013. Tonight he will make his second appearance in New Jersey since then.

New Jersey Devils fans are going to be reminded of a very tough time in team history Tuesday night. Former Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk is making his second appearance in Newark since he retired in the middle fo his contract. Fans of this team were betrayed by their former star player, so when he comes back to town he doesn’t really get a warm welcome. This time should be no different as he comes in with his Montreal Canadiens teammates.

The Devils players know that they could really make an impact by beating this team for the fans. Kovalchuk is going to hear a smattering of “boos” whenever Kovalchuk touches the puck so defeating the Habs would clearly make fans happy.

There are also other aspects of the game. Nico Hischier and Sami Vatanen are both day to day after not taking part in Monday’s practice. Neither of them is ruled out as of right now, however. Obviously, those are two of the five most important players on this team, so it would be a big issue to not have one of them and especially both. The Canadiens are not free of any issues either, as both Carey Price and Jonathan Drouin will not be available for tomorrow’s game.

There is a chance that this is a high-scoring affair between teams that have some skill but are not perfect in their own zones. Fans of high-flying offense should be pretty excited about this one. It is unclear how exactly the Devils will line up because it all depends on the status of Hischier and Vatanen. There could be a few other guys getting another chance to improve in an actual game.

Jack Hughes played in Nico Hischier’s spot in his absence during practice. It might be wise to keep him there, regardless if Nico plays or not. Hischier is clearly capable of carrying his own line so playing him with someone else might be okay for him. It is important to start seeing Hughes collect some points and this could be a great opportunity for that.

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The Habs coming to New Jersey has a little extra added to it because of the Kovalchuk variable but the most important thing is the play of the guys who are on the Devils. It is important to see the right players playing well despite who is on the other side. Yes, it is less than ideal what Kovalchuk did but it is long over now. The Devils have some budding young players to play well instead.

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