Kevin Weekes began the post-lockout era as the starting goaltender for the New York Rangers. But with an early injury in the season, it gave rookie Henrik Lundqvist the opportunity to step-in and show New York that he was worthy of not only being a New York Ranger, but being their starting goaltender.

Not only did he prove himself worthy, he became the number one goaltender in goal for the New York Rangers (with three Vezina Trophy nominations and an Olympic gold medal to boot). Weekes then began his new role for the Rangers as their backup netminder. Two seasons later, he signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Devils in 2007 and became the backup goaltender to Martin Brodeur, a seasoned netminder with three Stanley Cups to his name.

Weekes found little chances in his first season as a Devil to give Brodeur a rest, because Brodeur played throughout the season, even though he said he would willingly sit out and rest to prepare himself for the final stretch and the looming playoffs. That promise to sit out never happened.

Now with Brodeur out for a prolonged spell after surgery, Weekes finally has the opportunity to prove once again that he is able to step in and successfully replace one of the greatest goaltenders in the world and make it look like Brodeur isn’t even missing from the Devils lineup.

The fans in New Jersey have shown Weekes more respect then he was ever shown from fans during his tenure as a Blueshirt. The Legion chants his name with each save. They have really shown how much they appreciate their backup goaltender. Weekes has finally found a place he can call home.

For the missing Brodeur, it marks the first serious absence in his storied career; the Devils mettle will be tested early and often to see whether they can withstand the rigors of the NHL season without their All-Star goaltender who will be a first round lock selection to the Hall of Fame.

As for last night's game, Weekes' first attempt without Brodeur turned out to be a shutout loss for the Devils. The Sabres have an effective defense in front of their net, beyond their netminder Ryan Miller. Each time the puck came near the Sabres’ net, their defense grew tighter in front of the net, making it more difficult for the Devils to score. The Devils weren’t just trying to shoot the puck towards a goaltender. They were trying to get the puck through a wall of two defensemen, two forwards and the last stop, General Mills. That’s five players they’re trying to shoot through, and five players they couldn’t get through.

Had the Devils recognized this tight formation in front of Miller’s net, perhaps they could have broken up the foursome in front by working from within (very similar to what the Philadelphia Flyers did to the Devils a couple of weeks ago – adapt and break their game down from within).

“Our guys go about it taking away options,” Miller described of Buffalo’s style of play. “It’s part of the game. You gotta keep focused.”

The Devils started off the evening horribly, taking five penalties during the first period. During the last two sessions of the game, they picked up their game, but there were a few forwards that proved a complete disappointment.

“We had four to five forwards that didn’t play well for us tonight,” coach Brent Sutter told the press after the game. “I played our guys we were playing. If you’re gonna play, you’re gonna play. If not, then you’re gonna sit.”

Two of those forwards that were benched were Michael Rupp (3:28 ice time) and rookie Nicklas Bergfors (4:36 ice time).

John Madden noted that during this time with all of the injuries plaguing the team, this should be a moment for opportunity for the younger guys. “It’s more reason to get going. Maybe get yourself more ice and see what you can do.”

As for the Sabres’ goals, Jason Pominville tallied the first goal of the game at 19:26 in the first period. Patrick Kaleta recorded his first goal of the season in the final stanza at 7:41. The Sabres penalties built up in the final two periods. Even with all of the opportunities, the Devils went 0-7 on the power play.

“Our guys played very well in the last half of the game,” Sutter said. “We created some offenses, but things weren’t happening for us around the net.”

The Devils host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.

SIDE NOTE

Paul Martin has now joined the numerous Devils currently on the injured list. He is day-to-day.