PHILADELPHIA - New Jersey Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk will miss Tuesday's Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Philadelphia Flyers with an undisclosed lower-body injury.
The Devils said that Kovalchuk is day to day. He has three goals in eight playoff games. He led the Devils with 37 goals and 83 points this season.
The Devils say Kovalchuk was injured in the first-round series against Florida. The Devils won Games 6 and 7 of that series in overtime, to set up this matchup with Philadelphia. It was Kovalchuk's first series win of his career.
The Flyers lead the Devils 1-0 after a 4-3 overtime win in Game 1 Sunday. Kovalchuk was a minus-2 and had no shots on goal in the loss.
It is expected that defenceman Peter Harrold, who has three points and five shots on goal this post-season, will be moved up to a forward position to replace Kovalchuk's spot in Game 2. He will play right wing.
That would allow room for rookie defenceman Adam Larsson to be activated. Larsson was a first-round pick last year, and is just 19 years old. He had two goals and 18 points in his first NHL season, but has not played a playoff game yet.
