Kovalchuk a Scratch

In what was the most controversial move of the night, which had everyone buzzing around the league, was that Ilya Kovalchuk was a healthy scratch for the Devils, as they took on the Buffalo Sabres.

The news itself had everyone in the media scrambling to try and find out why the newly-signed superstar was held out of the contest, as the shock and awe was just too great.  After the game, Devils head coach John MacLean had commented that this was his idea and it was between the player and the coach.

In terms of his numbers, Kovalchuk hasn't had a bad start to the season, but you could argue that his enormous salary would expect larger offensive numbers to stem from it.  In the first six games of the season, Kovalchuk has 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points, which is a touch below the point-per-game ratio that you would expect from a highly-paid star.  Whatever the reasoning is for the benching, it has to have solid merit with the coaching staff for it to work.

I would expect to see Kovalchuk dress for the Devils next contest, on Sunday night against the Rangers, unless the message that needs to be sent has to be stronger.

It has to be a serious disappointment to see your 1st round pick in the draft get benched for any reason, but that seems to be the case here with Kovalchuk.  Neil, who drafted Kovalchuk 5th overall, has to be wondering what the end result of this benching will be, hoping for much better results out of the $100-million man.

Neil does sit in 3rd place and has decent numbers from his forwards, ranked 6th in the pool with 41 points up front, but it has been his good numbers from the back end that has helped him reach a little higher.  Still, you don't really want to see your 1st round pick benched, especially at a point-per-game ratio.

Let's see what Sunday brings, shall we?

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