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First and foremost, Happy belated Thanksgiving! Although there is no hockey, there's plenty to be thankful for: Gary Bettman's receding hairline, A Devils Stanley Cup Finals Appearance, and a mostly healthy and productive group of Devils playing in Europe. Finally, the NHL and NHLPA are supposedly only $40 Million apart per season. Who knows if they can close this $40 Million gap, but its better than no negotiating and a lost season, right? Anyways, the New Jersey Devils players who are playing in Europe had a strong week, even without a little thanksgiving turkey.
Stats
| Player | League | Team | GP | G | A | P | PIM | +/- |
| Anton Volchenkov | KHL | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -2 |
| Vladimir Zharkov | KHL | CSKA Moscow | 24 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| David Clarkson | Bundesliga | EC Red Bull Salzburg | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 18 | -1 |
| Artur Gavrus | Belarus | HC Neman | 12 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 6 |
| Marek Zidlicky | Czech Extraliga | HC Kladno | 21 | 1 | 17 | 18 | 24 | 10 |
| Ilya Kovalchuk | KHL | SKA St. Petersburg | 19 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 10 | 16 |
Updates
There were two Devils who did not play a game this week. David Clarkson and the EC Red Bulls did not play a game this week. Anton Volchenkov is still out with a broken ankle and there has been no news about his condition.
The rest of the Devils playing abroad played two games this week. Vladimir Zharkov picked up a goal in a blowout game where CSKA won by five goals. Marek Zidlicky picked up an assist in each game he played while also going minus one. Artur Gavrus tallied two goals and a +2 for a very impressive week in the Belarus league. Last but not least, Kovalchuk scored a goal and an assist and was +2 this week. Check out the video of Kovalchuk's 10th KHL goal in 19 games.
Kovalchuk's 10th KHL Goal
A beautiful shot that goes through a few players and beats the goalie far side...I miss Kovalchuk.
Power Rankings
| Power Ranking: Week 9 | Change | ||
| 1 | Gavrus | Gavrus continues to impress in Belarus (2G,+2) | +2 |
| 2 | Kovalchuk | Kovalchuk is disturbing KHL goalies (1G,1A, +2) | 0 |
| 3 | Zidlicky | Zidlicky is fourth in scoring for HC Kladno (2A, -1) | -2 |
| 4 | Zharkov | Mediocre performance this season (1G, +1) | +1 |
| 5 | Clarkson | No Games | -1 |
| 6 | Volchenkov | Injured | 0 |
Through nine weeks, the Devils in Europe are showing that they can adapt to playing conditions abroad and succeed. Hopefully this success will carry over to the NHL if the lockout ends. Thanks for reading.