Superstar Scratched

John MacLean wasn’t saying much.
The coach for the New Jersey Devils, MacLean offered little rationale relative to making Ilya Kovalchuk a healthy scratch for his team’s October 23 meeting with the Buffalo Sabres, a game the Devils lost 6-1.
“That’s between him and I,” said MacLean. “It was my decision. I spoke with him, and that’s where it’s going to stay.”
A left wing, Kovalchuk signed a 15-year, $100 million contract with New Jersey during the offseason.
His benching took teammates by surprise.
“Yeah, real surprised,” said forward Zach Parise. “We don’t know anything about it, but I think we were all surprised.”