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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Wow. Martin Brodeur sure knows how to make an entrance.

On a night where the buzz in the Pru was palpable, and the number of media behind the scenes doubled, let’s not forget some of the little things that made such a great comeback for Marty.

- Another Martin, first name Paul, also rejoined the line up after a four game hiatus due to an upper body issue. Martin made a huge difference in the game, assisting on two goals including Patrik Elias’ rebound on the power play in the second. Martin does a great job manning the point on the power play and is always in the right place at the right time. He said he felt a little rusty at first, but settled down after a while. It was a good night to be a Martin coming back from injury.

- I talked to Brian Gionta after the game about his conversation with Adam Foote in front of the net in the second period. I asked him what they were talking about, especially since Foote is the difference in height between the two. Gio’s response? “I hit him there behind the net and he didn’t like it too much. So he did most of the talking and I just listened.” The man is fearless.

- The Avalanche are a great reminder of how lucky the Devils are that they were able to maneuver the salary cap straight out from the lockout. They’re able to keep a few key guys like Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk, Foote and Paul Stasny, but are not able to load up at every position like they did during their cup runs. They were very good for a very long time, but as the core of the team got older all of those prospects that were traded away in blockbuster deals were helping other teams succeed when the Avs needed them. I’ve expressed a few times my concern over the collective age of the Devils; they’re sitting in a small window of opportunity to win a Cup before those core guys are ready to hang ‘em up. At the moment, I am concerned with the number of young prospects in the system, but Lamoriello is extremely smart and probably already has a plan in place. It’s too bad the Avs weren’t quite as prepared for this stage.

- Confession of a Childhood Fan: This game was extra special for me, as I began watching hockey the year the Avalanche became the Avalanche. I have a deep passion for the club, and it was a thrill to meet broadcaster Norm Jones, whose voice has described games over the radio when no TV would carry a game. It was also a treat to get to talk to Milan Hejduk, although other circumstances may have fitted my joy in the occasion better. I love covering the Devils, I love everything about the organization. But there’s always that 14 year old girl watching Chris Drury score the game winning goal in overtime against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals on her birthday inside of me, wanting to cheer for the navy and maroon. It’s only one game a year (maybe two, and definitely not in the Cup Finals this year) that my loyalties are divided, but nonetheless, it was a special night for me as a journalist and as a fan.

- Zach Parise rules. His spectacular goal eight minutes into the third period was a combo of speed to get around Brett Clark, strength to hold him off and talent to get that puck up and over Andrew Raycroft’s head. And if you needed any other proof of the hockey instincts in this kid, check out what Tom Gulitti’s Blog, Fire & Ice, says about the Elias goal in the second.

For more on Brodeur’s 99th regular season shutout and his return to the ice, check out my game story on www.nysportsday.com.

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