-- Devils left wing Ilya Kovalchuk appeared ready to play this morning, but he was not on the ice during the warmups prior to New Jersey's game Saturday night against Buffalo and the team later sent out a one-sentence press release saying the Russian left wing is a healthy scratch.The Devils called up Alexander Vasuynov from Albany earlier in the day; he made his NHL debut against Ryan Miller and the Sabres at Prudential Center.Kovalchuk is tied for the team lead with 5 points -- 2 goals and 3 assists. He has had six consecutive seasons of scoring 40 or more goals. There was no word prior to the game of Kovalchuk's status.