Petr Sykora probably won't wax poetic about his final days as a Devil. In fact, Sykora's behavior during those last days probably earned him his offseason ticket to Disneyland.

	Petr Sykora is second on the Ducks in goals (5) and third in points (10).

On Tuesday night, Sykora and his new team, the Mighty Ducks, open a five-game road trip with their one and only regular season match against the Devils. Thus, Sykora and ex-Ducks/now Devils Jeff Friesen (who couldn't have been happier to leave Anaheim) and Oleg Tverdovsky will face see some familiar faces.

Sykora, however, might not receive such a warm reception from some of his former teammates. You see, during New Jersey's first-round playoff series against Carolina last season, Sykora opted out of two games with a bruised ankle, although medically cleared to play. He missed Games 1 and 5 of the series, both road losses. The Devils were eliminated in six games.

Privately -- during and after their first-round elimination -- several Devils questioned Sykora's commitment to the team. They were especially miffed that Sykora wouldn't suit up while veteran Joe Nieuwendyk was playing at less than 100 percent due to a bad case of stomach flu and several others were skating with nagging injuries.

Clearly, Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello stood among those unimpressed with Sykora's somewhat fragile nature. At the draft, Lamoriello shopped his former first-line star around the league. Finally, on July 6, he sent Sykora to the Ducks in a multiplayer deal.

So, on Tuesday night, when Sykora returns to New Jersey to face his old mates, he'd be wise to keep his head up. After all, you just never know who might want to say hello.

Congratulations ...
... to Dave Andreychuk, who tied Phil Esposito's league record for power-play goals during the second period of the Lightning's 4-2 win over the visiting Coyotes on Monday. Andreychuk and Esposito both have 249 career PPGs. Andreychuk can establish a new mark when the Sharks swim into Tampa Bay on Friday.

E.J. Hradek writes hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.