Ilya Kovalchuk Could Give Mark Stuart, Bruins Defense Plenty of Problems

WILMINGTON, Mass. — After a week of rest and practice, the Bruins finally get back in action on Saturday when they travel to New Jersey.

Awaiting them in Newark will be a Devils squad top-heavy with a few of the most dangerous scorers in the league.

“They’ve got a lot of talent up front,” said Bruins defenseman Mark Stuart. “Those guys are going to give you a hard night every night. It’s a big challenge for us, and we haven’t played in a week. So we have to come out with a good start.”

The biggest threat is New Jersey’s new $100 million man, Ilya Kovalchuk. The Russian sniper is off to a modest start with just one goal and three points in his first four games this year, but that lone goal was an overtime winner against Buffalo on Wednesday and he has 21 goals and 39 points in 33 career games against Boston.

“I think he’s just so good with the puck,” said Stuart. “He’s really shifty. When you think you’ve got him to the outside or he’s not in a good scoring position, he’s got such a good shot he can fire it from anywhere. You have to always be aware of him and try to keep him to the outside as best as you can.”

Kovalchuk isn’t the only scoring threat New Jersey possesses. Zach Parise, who has scored 38 and 45 goals the past two seasons, has been united with Kovalchuk and Travis Zajac on the Devils’ top line. The second line can score too, with Jason Arnott flanked by Patrick Elias and Jamie Langenbrunner.

“They’re a great team and they have a lot of great players,” said Bruins forward Brad Marchand. “It’s going to be a lot of fun to line up against them and compete with those guys, but it’s going to be a tough game.”

What New Jersey doesn’t have is much depth. Injuries and cap problems forced them to play with just 15 skaters against Pittsburgh and 16 on Wednesday against Buffalo. But they will have a full lineup against Boston after putting former Bruin Brian Rolston on long-term injured reserved with a sports hernia, freeing up enough cap space to call up reinforcements from their AHL affiliate in Albany.

“They’ve got a lot of injuries right now, but by no means will they be easy [to beat],” said Marchand. “They have a few great players, very deadly if you give them opportunities. We have to shut those guys down.”

The Devils are navigating these tough times with a new boss behind the bench, as John MacLean is in his first season as New Jersey’s head coach. MacLean, 45, is new on the job but quite familiar with the Devils, having spent 14 of his 19 years in the NHL playing there, plus seven seasons as an assistant coach and one as the head coach of their AHL affiliate in Lowell.

“He was an assistant when I was there,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien, who served as New Jersey’s head coach in the 2006-07 season. “John’s been around the organization forever. I don’t think there’s going to be a ton of changes, but at the same time I’ve seen them enough to know they’re a team that’s going to work hard.

“They’re not going to give you much,” added Julien. “They’re going to try to wear you down as much mentally as physically. We’ve been pretty good in the past going in there and creating some good games and winning some of those types of games. The biggest thing is you’ve got to stay focused on your game, stick with the game plan and don’t get frustrated because the minute you get frustrated that’s when they take over.”