On Clarkson, Gonchar, Alfredsson, Visnovsky & Murray

NHL RUMOR TUESDAY *One of the most coveted free agents were he to hit the free agent market in July will be New Jersey Devils winger David Clarkson, who some scouts feel has evolved into one of the best power forwards in the National Hockey League. At 28 years old, Clarkson is set to cash in. An NHL insider predicted to me that Clarkson lands a 5 year, $30 million contract this summer. The Devils don’t plan to open contract talks until after the season. *Senators GM Bryan Murray feels obligated to do what he can to keep the Senators competitive despite losing Erik Karlsson for the season and Jason Spezza out until April. There will be no fire sale

Post-Game Analysis: Devils play Devils hockey making Penguins pay for miscues, sweeping home and home series

NEW JERSEY 3 – PITTSBURGH 1 David Clarkson (9) scored twice and the New Jersey Devils (8-1-3, 19 pts) swept the home and home series, defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins (8-5-0, 16 pts), 3-1 on Sunday night at the Consol Energy Center, extending their winning streak to five games. Ilya Kovalchuk (4) also scored and Johan Hedberg made 23 saves to record the win. After taking a 1-0 first period lead on a David Clarkson goal, the Devils broke the game open in the second period, getting goals from Kovalchuk and Clarkson a 1:53 apart. Kovalchuk struck at 11:27 period when Paul Martin fumbled the puck at the Devils blueline and Kovalchuk came in on a 2 on 1 and showed