DING DING DING! Round 1 of Devils vs. Rangers about to begin.

No Sean Avery tonight, and a more cuddly, controlled verson of Andrew Peters to make an apperance tonight, so the fisticuffs may wait until later in the season, but the action is moving fast and furious from the opening whistle.

The Devils score less than two minutes in, when Jay Pandolfo controlled the puck off the boards and found Rob Niedermeyer in the right faceoff circle, and Niedermeyer one-timed it into the upper right corner of the net.

The Rangers took a timeout after the Devils earned another shot on goal, and immediately took a 2 minute interference penalty. The Devils look like a completely different team than Saturday’s version, and we’re only 2 minutes in.

The Rangers kill the penalty, but the momentum is still with the Devils. And our first look at Pikkarainen, the Devils biggest offseason acquisition, is in the penalty box. 2 min for hooking. Awesome. Brodeur makes a save on his right side to start the PK.

Michael Del Zotto, one of the youngins playing for the Rangers this season, scored on a wide open rebound from the left side of the ice off of a shot by Vinny Prospal.  First power play goal given up by the Devils this season, and second goal of the season for Del Zotto. FANTASY HOCKEY TIP: Pick up Del Zotto. Now. On an offensively-challenged squad, he may be the scoring leader sooner rather than later.

Devils kill a second penalty very aggressively, and in turn create a penalty on the Rangers. Time to see if the Devils power play is less anemic than its’ Saturday version. With one shot on goal in the fifrst 20 seconds, the answer is yes.

Just as I was telling my colleague Denis Gorman that I didn’t like the Devils new power play set up, with both Zajac and Clarkson crashing the net, Clarkson gets a pass from Parise down low, and makes a sweet backhand, no-look pass to Zajac on the right side of the net. Zajac threw the puck into the upper right hand corner of the net to regain the Devils’ lead.

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NOTE: ‘The Devils Made Me Do It” was unable to blog from Saturday’s opening game due to technical issues. I apologize for not being on ball with the blog. Or on the puck… whatever.

As the lights dim here in the Pru for another Rangers-Devils game, I was thinking about another sporting event going on tonight.

Being from the great state of Wisconsin, I find myself glad I won’t be watching the Packer-Viking game tonight in favor of the Rangers-Devils game, as it is probably better for my blood pressure.

As I walked from the train station to the stadium, I saw a lot of red and white “4″ jerseys for the legendary Scott Stevens. Stevens was the heart and soul (and all-around badass) for the Devils in their cup winning hey-day. And I saw a lot of similarities between the Stevens we all knew and the Brett Favre I thought I knew (beyond the piercing eyes and dirty blond hair).

So how would Devils react tonight if Stevens donned a Blueshirt and came out of retirement to play for the most hated rivals. Those not from the Cheese state sometimes think that Chicago is the most-hated team, but the Vikings took that title once Randy Moss tried to do the Lambeau Leap and “mooned” the crowd.  So the Rangers/Vikings comparison works.

Would Devils fans cheer for Stevens? Would he get an extra-loud “SUCKS” after his name is announced, as Scott Gomez did after he switched loyalties? Would there be polite applause, an appreciation for the seasons of contributions?

All I know is that it would hurt. A lot. The Packers never got to retire Favre’s #4, but Stevens’ jersey is hanging from the rafters here. Would the team take it down?

I’m not rooting for Brett Favre tonight. If I were sitting in front of my television at home instead of in the press box here in the Pru, I would be booing loudly, and throwing foam-cheese products at the screen whenever the traitor was shown. And I think people know why.

Stevens took a job with the Devils after his retirement, staying with the organization that he gave so much to, and the fans that loved him even more. Favre had that opportunity and decided to bolt. I guess it’s a case of comparing sour grapes to hypothetical oranges.

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