There once was a forward who scored goals at ease and only made the playoffs once. His name was Ilya Kovalchuk and he was traded from the Atlanta Thrashers to the New Jersey Devils for a return that included the great Johnny Oduya and Patrice Cormier amongst others. While the club has faced Kovalchuk since, they have not faced him since he retired in 2013. He is back and is supposedly looking good. Anyways, a legend is playing his old team again and that is not all that matters.
The Jets looked great in their first game and bad in their second game. The St. Louis Blues are a team that is looking to rebuild on the fly and are in the start of that process while the Dallas Stars are a team that has been built to be good this season and that is also evident. The Jets also got into penalty trouble like seasons of old and their penalty trouble matches those memories.
The Opposition
Starting Goalie:
Jonathan Quick
Player to Watch:
Ilya Kovalchuk
Even though there are other good players to watch on the L.A. Kings, he is the one to watch simply because a player can change a lot in five years. Kovalchuk is older and he has always been a percentage shooter. Can he maintain his level of play from before or will he fall off as he gets older? Kovalchuk is a Thrashers legend and with Marian Hossa’s non-retirement retirement, he is the last legend they have in the league (there are many more Thrashers still playing in the NHL).
SBNation Blog:
Jets Player to Watch:
The Penalty Kill
Yes, this is not a player, but the penalty kill has often been the Jets achilles heal and it was back at it on Saturday night. It could be a one-off or it could be a sign of things to come. Let’s hope it is the former and not the latter.
Song of the Day:
