The New Jersey Devils won their first game of the season on Thursday night, beating the Florida Panthers 3-1. It was a weird night, with both teams committing five minor penalties and a late goal by the Panthers was waved off, but the Devils were the better team and they deserved the victory.
That’s much different than last year’s home opener. That was weird for a completely different reason. The Devils started the season in Prague, and when they returned, they had the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Prudential Center. Not only was this Head Coach Sheldon Keefe’s first home game with his new team, but he had to immediately get up for a game against the only other team he knew in the NHL.
It wasn’t a surprise that the Leafs had a relatively easy time with the Devils in that game. The Leafs won 4-2, and Keefe is still looking for his first win against the Maple Leafs.
Keefe acknowledged that this year felt different mainly because of that, but there were other reasons as well.
"Didn't play the Leafs, so that's a start."Sheldon Keefe on the home opener
It’s clear there’s just a different level of comfort for Keefe and the rest of the Devils’ staff. Even when the Devils were playing incredibly well in December last season, there was still moments where the team was still trying to learn the system and the staff was trying to better understand the players.
Through four games this season, that’s not the case. Even with a ton of injuries and new faces like Connor Brown, Arseny Gritsyuk, and Luke Glendening, the Devils look smoother on the ice. It’s just four games, and the first game was a mess, but the last three games look like a really good team.
"Feels more natural, more at home. Without question, it feels like one less thing. It feels now like we're actually doing the work."Sheldon Keefe, Devils head coach
Keefe went on to talk about the "strangeness" of playing Toronto last season while dealing with a situation where he was starting "from scratch." This season, he's established in that locker room.
It was a heck of a game to start the season. The crowd was rocking and they were chanting for most of the night, with a lot of the vitriol going towards the referees. Still, playin in front of a crowd like that can get a team, and even a head coach, going.