New Jersey Devils: Diagnosing the Mysterious Ilya Kovalchuk Injury

Whether or not he wants to admit it, something is seriously wrong with New Jersey Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk.

Some analysts have said that the $100 million winger has been non-existent in the playoffs, but that's not the case. Although he has a -5 rating overall, Kovalchuk is still second on the team with three goals and three assists.

However, it is clear that something isn't quite right with his health. After failing to record a shot on goal in 21 minutes of ice time (a playoff low) during Game 1 against Philadelphia, the Devils star was reportedly heading to therapy to work on an undisclosed injury.

This could have been from a number of things, ranging from a hit he suffered during the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, to the amount of fatigue the workhorse has added up since the playoffs again. Despite averaging nearly 25 minutes per game on the ice, including three consecutive overtime games, Kovalchuk insisted that fatigue wasn't the issue.

"I don't think fatigue played into it," Kovalchuk told NHL.com after Game 1. "It's playoffs, so you have to find that extra gear and they were rested in first but we took advantage. We know how to play against those guys."

The first round match-up against the Panthers lacked physical contact and hard hits, which makes it interesting to assume that Kovalchuk suffered the injury during the quarterfinals. Kovy took his fare share of hits in the first round, but he continued to play through it and still scored three goals in seven games.

The veteran winger had to hold down the top line for the first two months of the season as Zach Parise was coming back from major knee surgery and Travis Zajac was still out with an Achilles injury. Both men are back now, but Kovalchuk's ice time continues to stay high.

Kovalchuk also dealt with injuries of his own early in the season, but still managed to play in 77 of the team's 82 games. Despite those injuries, Kovalchuk posted a career high 24:26 of ice time, which was almost a minute more than his previous career high that he posted in 2003-2004.

The best move, although unlikely, would be to rest Kovalchuk for a game and give him time to nurse his mysterious injury. However, the intense offensive game of the Philadelphia Flyers and the current 1-0 hole the team is in will likely prevent coach Peter DeBoer from making such a drastic change to the team.

For now, the Devils will keep this injury under wraps and will continue to start Kovalchuk regardless of how he plays on the ice. Without Kovalchuk, however, it is hard to imagine this team making it past the second round.