Kovalchuk posts first hat trick with Devils

With all the fuss that was made over the two contracts the Devils signed with right wing Ilya Kovalchuk (the first one was killed by the NHL), and with the negative aura that tends to follow this guy around, there's a tendency to forget how talented he really is.

In short, he's playing like an MVP.

Kovalchuk scored his first hat trick as a Devil Wednesday night in Buffalo, the last goal going into an empty net after an unselfish dish by captain Zach Parise, as the Devils beat the Sabres 4-1 in Buffalo.

Kovalchuk has 13 goals and 13 assists in his last 17 games, with 10 multi-point games in the 17, and leads the Devils with 25 goals and 56 points in 51 games.

"Kovy deserves the hat trick," said left wing Petr Sykora, who hit the crossbar with the net empty to create Kovalchuk's chance. "I think he's been a force. I can't say enough about how good he plays. He plays for the team and he's creating so much offense out there and he's playing really, really fantastic hockey.

"I've always been a fan of Kovy's. "Even when he played against me, I always liked him and on top of how good of a player he is, he's a great guy too. He's a great guy in the locker room. He plays a great way and he's playing good defensively too. I don't know why everybody is always saying he's not that good on the defensive side of the puck. I think he's playing as good as anybody on this team on the defensive side of the puck.

"And the way he's creating offense is just great."

Sykora scored the other goal and rookie center Adam Henrique had two assists in front of Martin Brodeur as the Devils, who host the Ducks Friday night, ended their two-game losing streak.

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