Penguins superstar Jaromir Jagr was his jovial self 90 minutes before the opening faceoff of last night’s 3-1 Devils victory in Game One of their first-round series.
Glancing at a newspaper’s sports section, Jagr looked up and said loudly outside the Meadowlands’ locker room: “I guarantee a victory. I mean, I guarantee the Yankees a victory.”
Jagr, held goal-less in a rough-and-tumble battle against the Devils’ blueline pair of Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer, was right to back off.
Jagr, clearly agitated by Niedermayer and who needed treatment for 25 minutes icing his upper thigh afterward, spent more time in the penalty box than buzzing around goalie Martin Brodeur, although New Jersey hearts went aflutter with 2:07 left. With the score 2-1, the probable Hart Trophy winner took a pass from Martin Straka at the Devils’ blueline, exploded down left wing, shaking off Niedermayer but seeing his wrister stopped by Brodeur’s pads.
Following the Devils’ empty-netter with 30 seconds left, Jagr, who picked up two minors, left the ice for the locker room, apparently injured. But Jagr disputed he had an injury. “I feel alright,” Jagr said.
A Penguins staffer cursed out a reporter who inquired about Jagr’s health. “It’s playoff time,” the staffer shouted. “Nobody’s going to tell you the truth. It’s a stupid question.”
Jagr, who had an assist on the Penguins’ first goal, was held to just four shots and got caught up in a war against old foe Niedermayer. During one juncture in the second period, Niedermayer nailed Jagr with three jabs to the face during a puck battle. Jagr retaliated with a sharp left and they both went off for roughing.
“Both teams played better defensively than offensively,” Jagr said. “It’s one game. We’ve still got three to go and momentum can change.”
Asked about Niedermayer, Jagr said, “It’s a playoff game. That’s what it’s going to be.”
Said Constantine, “I suppose at times (they held Jagr in check), but at times he had his chances.”
Jagr admitted the absence of their fourth-leading scorer, Alexei Kovalev, until probably Game 3 was a major hit to the eighth-seeded Penguins.
“If he can’t play, it’s a big loss,” Jagr said. “He’s such a good, skilled player. He makes the team different.”
Kovalev, who practiced at the morning skate, didn’t suit up. He’s suffering from a sprained ligament in his right wrist, injured in Sunday’s Gretzky Game at the Garden. Kovalev, who has always played well against the Devils, said he sustained the injury during a collision with an unidentified Ranger.
When Kovalev was acquired from the Rangers in the Petr Nedved trade, he instantly gave the Pens two scoring lines. With his absence, the pressure on Jagr’s line, which includes former career minor-leaguer Kip Miller and Straka, becomes intensified.