I was going to do a writeup on the Devils/Sabres game from Tuesday yesterday but to the Marek Zidlicky rumors that popped out of nowhere, I didn't get the chance. In today's piece I'll look at the possibility of Pavel Kubina or Zidlicky coming to New Jersey, post thoughts on Tuesday's game and tomorrow's opponent, the Anaheim Ducks.
Note: if you want to avoid the rumors, just skip down a few points.
- Before I begin, I'd like to point out that as of right now there are five sellers: Carolina, Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Edmonton and Columbus. Montreal, among a few others, will join the list too if they don't win almost every game before the Trade Deadline in less than two weeks.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning created a buzz when they held veteran defenseman Pavel Kubina off the ice during practice today. Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman has asked Kubina for a list of teams he would be willing to waive his No-Trade Clause to go to. Nothing is imminent as of right now, but Kubina will sit tonight in order to avoid injury. I imagine he'll be dealt within the next few days.
Nothing is confirmed, but it is believed that the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers and potentially the Devils, among a few others, have interest. My guess is he ends up in New York.
- Marek Zidlicky will not play tonight as per Wild beat writer Michael Russo. Zidlicky won't play because Mike Yeo thinks it would send the wrong message to the team. After everything that has happened over the past two days, I really can't see Zidlicky staying in Minnesota. As Michael Russo said yesterday, Zidlicky's marriage with the Wild appears to be ending.
On a side note, Devils General Manager had no comment when asked about rumors that he's in talks with the Wild about Marek Zidlicky as per Tom Gulitti. I find that interesting as if the rumors were false, he could just say so and squash all the talk. By not commenting/denying it he left the possibility open.
- How hot is Ilya Kovalchuk right now? He's playing on another level than the rest of the league as of late. To put it in perspective Kovalchuk has 15 points this month and Evgeni Malkin, the leading scorer in the NHL, has ten.
Kovalchuk has now tallied three or more points in four of his last seven games. That's ridiculous.
- While I'm at it, I wanted to congratulate Ilya Kovalchuk on tallying his first hat trick as a Devil Tuesday evening. He had a very tough season last year and took a lot of heat, but he's really come out with something to prove this season. He's currently sixth in the NHL in points per game, and is top ten in the NHL in goals and assists; despite missing five games.
- The Devils played a heck of a game against Buffalo Tuesday. The thing that impressed me the most was their ability to shut the Sabres down in the third and walk away with a victory. As you all know, the Devils have struggled mightily in the third period this season. That was not the case Tuesday. The Devils outscored Buffalo 3-0 in the third and out shot them 12-10. I'm sure Pete DeBoer was very pleased with their effort.
- My last note is on the Anaheim Ducks. They're the New Jersey Devils of last season, but this year. They're very talented and their top players are playing at a very high level right now; especially Corey Perry. If the Devils don't bring their 'A' game tomorrow the Ducks will take them out. Anaheim was 17 points out of the playoffs on January 1st. Now they're just six points out and are playing some outstanding hockey. New Jersey can't afford to take them lightly.
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