A power play in New Jersey

A bad record, a scratched superstar in Kovalchuk and whispered questions about the coach - all before the regular season was 10 games old for the Devils.

Ilya Kovalchuk, the New Jersey winger, was benched against Buffalo on Saturday night, but was back on Sunday.

The New Jersey Devils never thought their season would start out like this. A bad record, a scratched superstar and whispered questions about the coach - all before the regular season was 10 games old.

But sometimes that is what happens when you bring on a new coach and a new franchise face and expect Stanley Cup-calibre play right out of the gates.

If you missed it, John MacLean, the rookie Devils coach - a longtime soldier in the New Jersey organisation - benched Ilya Kovalchuk and his US$100 million (Dh367m) contract on Saturday night against Buffalo.

As soon as the hockey world recovered from the shock of seeing Kovalchuk in street clothes in the press box, the questions began. The most obvious query - Why did MacLean sit Kovalchuk? - has not been adequately answered.

MacLean simply said the matter was between him and Kovalchuk, and left it at that.

That has not prevented rampant speculation, of course, with the guesses ranging from Kovalchuk missing a morning meeting, to being unhappy at switching from the left to the right wing, to continually freelancing on the ice and not embracing the Devils' team-first approach.

Whatever the case, it is not a good situation from any perspective. If coach and player cannot co-exist someone has got to go.

Considering the contortions the Devils performed to sign Kovalchuk to a 15-year free-agency deal during the summer - including reworking their roster to come in under the salary cap - do not expect Lou Lamoriello, the general manager, to suddenly trade away the dynamic goal scorer.

MacLean, on the other hand, is in the precarious position of being a first-year NHL coach who is fighting with his team's alleged best player. There is an NHL axiom that it is easier to fire the coach than to fire 20 players, and Lamoriello has not been shy when it comes to canning coaches.

Making matters worse was the Devils' slow start. New Jersey's 2-6-1 mark did not exactly inspire confidence or improve team chemistry, and the Devils had lost four out of five games - including being out-scored 9-2 against Buffalo (6-1) and the Rangers (3-1) in their past two contests.

Kovalchuk scored the lone goal against New York - in a game that came the day after his benching - but did little else. In fact, the loss to the Rangers is symbolic of Kovalchuk's experience as a Devil thus far - he scored, but the team lost. He wore New Jersey's uniform, but didn't really play the Devils' way.

Kovalchuk was a one-man show for a wobbly franchise for many years in Atlanta; perhaps the Russian sharpshooter is unable to change his game.

Players of the week
• Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning. Stamkos, below, had a blast, collecting four goals and eight points in three games, including a hat-trick and an assist against Atlanta.
• Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins. Thomas continued his comeback bid with a pair of victories over the high-powered Capitals, 4-1 at home and 3-1 in Washington, stopping 73 of 75 shots in the process.

Teams of the week
• New York Rangers. After losing 3-1 to Colorado on October 18, the Rangers won three in a row despite lacking some top players. New York nipped Toronto 2-1, Boston 3-2 and New Jersey 3-1. An impressive run.
• St Louis Blues. After losing 3-2 in overtime to Chicago on October 18, the Blues downed the Blackhawks 4-2 and shut out Pittsburgh 1-0.

Duds of the week
• The Edmonton Oilers. The team endured a pair of home-ice defeats and saw their season-opening two-game winning streak give way to an ugly four-game slide.
• Nicklas Backstrom, the centre went pointless in three games for Washington and suffered a -4 rating.

Games of the week
• Los Angeles at Chicago, today. The defending champions host a young upstart in a Western showdown that could be a play-off preview.
• Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, Friday. Two of the East's best teams have seen a rebirth of a rivalry that might be the most heated in the league right now.
• Nashville at Detroit, Saturday. The Predators get a crack at divisional rivals and play-off nemeses Detroit with bragging rights on the line.