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Devils coach thinks Kovalchuk, Parise and Clarkson are “on the verge” of breakout

Ilya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise, David Clarkson

New Jersey Devils’ Ilya Kovalchuk, center right, of Russia, celebrates with teammates Zach Parise (9) and David Clarkson (23) during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, in Newark, N.J. The Devils won 4-3 in an overtime shootout. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

AP

The New York Rangers’ defensive system isn’t chopped liver, yet the Los Angeles Kings probably present a scoring challenge that the New Jersey Devils haven’t seen in the 2012 playoffs.*

Even so, it jarring to see offensive stars such as Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise come up empty, while budding power forward David Clarkson’s missed some great chance in his own right. Devils coach Peter DeBoer thinks that things are going to turn around for those three, though, as he told Tom Gulitti.

“I thought [that in] Game 1 [Clarkson] was arguably our best forward,” DeBoer said. “I thought he could have had two or three goals. So, he’s a guy on the verge of breaking out, as is (Zach) Parise, as is (Ilya) Kovalchuk. “I don’t think it’s any secret. We’ve got to score more than one goal and all those guys on that list have to find a way.”

If I had to peg a guy who’s most likely to catch a break - not that they all can’t, mind you - it would be Parise. He already has seven shots in this series (three in Game 1 and four in Game 2), so a little “puck luck” could change things.

The more worrisome fact is that Kovalchuk hasn’t just been pointless; he’s been almost invisible at times, with just three shots in the series so far. (Of course, that number doesn’t count the times he caught a post or a crossbar, so maybe we’re selling him a bit short with that stat.)

Considering Parise’s all-around talent, Clarkson’s willingness to get to the net and Kovalchuk’s world-class sniping skills, DeBoer’s probably just playing the percentages when he says that they’re likely to turn things around.

That being said, the Kings are getting Simon Gagne back, so their offense might get a boost in its own right tonight.

* The Kings don’t really have a Michael Del Zotto-sized scapegoat, for one.