Coming into his sophomore season as coach of the New Jersey Devils, Brent Sutter has decided to make his team accountable for every single thing that happens from the individual level to the team level. He was highly disappointed that his team did not have more hatred towards their division rivals – the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders. Instead, they posted a horrible season when it came to their Tri-State division rivals.

How does a team that sits so nicely in the number one spot in the Atlantic Division throughout the majority of the season fall almost every single time they meet up with either of their rivals? Frankly, it didn’t make sense.

Now that Coach Sutter has gotten to know his team and vice versa, the Devils are walking into this new season with a different mindset then what they had experienced in the previous season. In order for a successful Stanley Cup contender to work, they have to be able to understand each other and be able to communicate with each other, especially when it comes to what the coach wants from them.

The first test of whether this team has changed and refused to be taken advantage of by their division rivals came on their first home opener against the Islanders on Friday night. The arena was not filled to the max, but the fans were louder then I’ve ever heard them before and that kind of energy can be felt all the way down on the bench (and in the press box).

“It was nice to be in our building,” Martin Brodeur said of the energy of the fans. “The first one that really counts, and I thought the energy was great.”

Even though they were on home ice for their game opener, this game didn’t play so smoothly throughout. The team was expecting to see Rick DiPietro in goal for the New York Islanders on Friday night, but Islanders’ Coach Scott Gordon decided to put Joey MacDonald in and give DiPietro the night off. With the back-up in goal, the Islanders made the Devils fight for their first two points of the season.

With Colin White in the penalty box for hooking at 9:30 into regulation, Doug Weight scored the first goal of the season (a power play goal) for the Islanders eighteen seconds into the power play. [This goal also marked his first goal as a New York Islander.] The Devils refused to let that first goal slip by them, when three minutes later Zach Parise would score the first Devils goal on the man advantage from a very smart kicking move off of David Clarkson’s skate in front of the net. “[David] knew where he needed to go,” Coach Sutter said of the play. “[It was] a very intelligent play by Clarky.”

The Islanders’ Kyle Okposo was offered a penalty shot after being tripped during an attempt to make a shot on Brodeur at 16:02 in the first period, which proved to be unsuccessful against the wizardry of Brodeur.

Coming into the second stanza, Patrik Elias notched his first goal of the season with just 29 seconds in. While standing at MacDonald’s doorstep with his back to him, Elias took a pass from Gionta in the crease, and backhanded the puck into the net.

Even with that beautiful move on Elias’ part, it wasn’t enough to keep the rest of the team focused. The second period was riddled with penalty after penalty against the Devils. “We weren’t thinking the game properly in the second,” Coach Sutter said of the period. “We talked about things [during the intermission] that we need to get back to doing.”

When they came back out for the third stanza, the team fought to retain their lead and came out with two points at the end. Most notably, with only thirteen seconds left in the game, Brodeur made the most incredible save (something I should be a little accustomed to seeing by now, but you can’t help but think ‘WOW!’) when he stopped a shot on goal with his stick, then as the rebound came back to him, he dropped the stick and caught the puck with his glove…all of this in a little under two seconds. His stellar moves earned him the third star of the game, with Parise earning the first and Elias the second stars.

Speaking of Mr. Brodeur, this year is the year that a lot of records are going to be set by the Devils’ goaltender, including becoming the best goaltender of all time when he surpasses Patrick Roy’s record for most wins by a goaltender. On Friday night, he set a new record when he started his 14th consecutive season-opener, beating Tony Esposito’s record of 13 consecutive season-openers for one club by a goaltender.

In the Devils’ locker room, it is apparent that Brodeur’s teammates are well aware of the legend in the making sitting in the same room as them. “Winning is fun,” Bobby Holik said of Friday night’s win over the Islanders. “If Marty [Brodeur] is part of it.”

Patrik Elias added, “Hopefully he can get those wins. It’s better for us.”

Even with this first game win to add to their belt, they are still behind the New York Rangers by two games. The Rangers began their regular season in Prague last weekend and had a win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night at MSG, giving them 6 points total between the three games. The Rangers also play tonight in Philadelphia and will meet the Devils on Monday at MSG.

The Devils left for Pittsburgh after the game where they will play game two of the season against the Penguins who just returned from their Stockholm exhibition games earlier this week. Game time tonight is at 7:30 p.m.