Devils’ Ilya Kovalchuk now firmly a Jersey guy

Devils left winger Ilya Kovalchuk isn’t quite ready for a starring role on the hit TV reality show “Jersey Shore”’ along with Snooki and the gang, but he says life in New Jersey fits him and his family just fine. In fact, he recently bought several acres in Alpine and is planning to build a

Rinne stops 35 shots as Preds blank Red Wings

Kostitsyn scored twice and Pekka Rinne stopped 35 shots and the Predators beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-0. Captain Shea Weber added a goal for Nashville, which snapped a four-game losing streak. Including a 3-0 home loss to Columbus on Friday, the Red Wings have been shut out in consecutive games. The second-place Predators are

Mikael Samuelsson and Canucks Rally to Beat Hawks 4-3

It won’t ease the pain of being eliminated in each of the last two playoff seasons, but the Vancouver Canucks have to be feeling good about themselves after an emotional 4-3 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Arena on Friday night. Not that their coach wasn’t trying to downplay the pleasure of beating the

Kovalchuk and Devils Surging, Leaving Slow Start Behind

On the final night of his first year as a Devil, the Big Shot helped them climb out of the NHL basement for the first time since Dec. 23, Jacques Lemaire’s first night back on the job. Kovalchuk opened the scoring 1:04 into play, giving the Devils the lead they never surrendered in last night’s

Study habits make Rinne big-time shootout stopper

Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne is a big fan of the shootout. Actually, there’s a perfectly good explanation why one of the more tense moments for any goaltender happens to put Rinne in a comfort zone. “First off, he’s tremendously skilled and a lot of it has to do with athleticism and quickness,” Predators goalie

Kovy and Devils Take Down Rival Rangers at MSG

Zubrus set up Ilya Kovalchuk’s goal in the first period and scored along with Brian Rolston in the second to give the Devils a seemingly comfortable 3-0 lead. Ryan Callahan and Vinny Prospal, in his season debut after recovering from offseason knee surgery, got the Rangers close, but Brodeur hung on for the Devils (18-30-3),