NHL

Devils to face Kings with hole in middle

The Devils’ Donut dilemma is fraught with dire implications, starting with whether they really can keep Zach Parise next season.

They have the salary cap space to bring in a skilled, experienced center to play with Ilya Kovalchuk, even before they seek long-term injury cap relief for Travis Zajac (Achilles surgery) and Jacob Josefson (collarbone surgery).

They’re right to give Adam Henrique a real chance to fill that opening as they begin their western swing in Los Angeles tonight against the Kings. But if Henrique or anyone else on hand doesn’t suddenly prove the catalyst to ignite Kovalchuk, they have to find someone elsewhere with sufficient spark, or waste one of their greatest assets.

It appears, however, instead of seeking an out-of-favor star or a luminary busting his current team’s cap, they’re going to beat the bushes for a diamond in the minors, someone lost in someone’s shuffle.

It wouldn’t seem the solution for a team with contending aspirations, since they have nearly $4 million in cap space, and could go beyond by another $2 million or so for long-term injury relief.

It does suggest they’ve spent about all they’re going to, and that’s ominous for an outfit whose part-owner had to cough up more than $20 million to walk away from his 47 percent of the team.

Patrik Elias has been excellent in his shift to center, and he counts as one top pivot. But playing stopgap until Zajac returns is risky, since Zajac will need plenty more time before he’s skating as usual. If the Devils are not interested in paying another top center to play with Kovalchuk this season, it raises doubts whether they can afford to give Parise the $3 million raise he’s likely to command next season.

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The Devils have scored one regulation goal or less in three of their six games this season (3-2-1), and face the NHL’s First Star of the Week, goalie Jonathan Quick, who is riding a Kings’-record three straight shutouts. Brian Boucher holds the modern record of five straight with Phoenix in 2003-04.

mark.everson@nypost.com