"Nothing has been made official, but it's looking highly unlikely the New Jersey Devils will have forward Ilya Kovalchuk in the lineup for tomorrow's game against the Carolina Hurricanes (7:30 p.m. Versus, TSN2).

Kovalchuk, who hasn't played since leaving late in the third period of last Thursday's 4-3 shootout win in Philadelphia due a pulled leg muscle, sat out today's practice at Prudential Center in Newark.

Coach Peter DeBoer wasn't ready to completely rule Kovalchuk out for tomorrow, but told reporters it would take "a miraculous recovery" for him to play."