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“I think you’re more selfish when you’re younger,” he said. “There is more pressure on you. You have to produce. You want to be treated differently. At least that’s the way I was, I guess. Now I see I was wrong.”

In his first game for the Devils, Jagr was set to skate at right wing with Travis Zajac and Adam Henrique.

Henrique was born eight months before Jagr broke into the NHL with the Penguins in 1990.

“It’s pretty funny,” Henrique said. “He’s a legend. Having him and Marty (Brodeur) as teammates is pretty cool. He’s a guy you talk to and try to learn as much a possible if you can because he’s been in every situation. He’s won. When he speaks, you listen. If you have questions, you ask him. I try to avoid the age thing, but I bug him once in a while about it.”

Jagr is 41.

“It’s pretty neat to have a chance to play with him. Whether this is his last year or not, to be able to be his teammate is pretty cool,” Henrique said. “It’s only my third year in the league. You try to talk to those guys and learn as much as possible from them. You can learn so many little things by just watching them and listening to them and talking to them.”

Zajac said that as a kid he watched Jagr play for the Pens.

“Hopefully he’s not going to watch me anymore. I need help. I need big help,” Jagr joked.

Jagr said he hopes his younger linemates don’t look to feed him the puck all the time. He joked that he’s had the puck plenty for 25 years.

“I don’t think you can just keep trying to look for one guy out there on the ice. If you do, I think it takes away from the whole line,” Henrique noted. “If the play is there, you make the play. If it’s not, you have to get pucks in and create chances for ourselves. That’s something I want to work on with my own game, getting more shot opportunities and chances. I think we just have to go out there and play. As we do that, I think the chemistry will build. Hopefully we can find that right away.”

Jagr was questioned by the Pittsburgh media about his time with the Penguins. He was asked if he’d like to see his No. 68 retired by the team.

“It’s not up to me. I’m not thinking about retirement yet,” he said. “It’s up to the organization how they feel. Lately the fans don’t really appreciate me here. I don’t know if it would be a good idea or not.”

Has he had issues with Pittsburgh fans?

“I never really had any issues with the fans. They supported us so well over the years I was here,” Jagr said. “We made the playoffs every year, so they were even more excited. They’re crazy sports fans and that’s good.”

Star Ledger LOADED: 10.05.2013

719571 New Jersey Devils

Devils goalie Martin Brodeur: 'I felt for Marc-Andre Fleury during playoffs'

Rich Chere/The Star-Ledger

on October 03, 2013 at 3:07 PM, updated October 03, 2013 at 3:14 PM

PITTSBURGH— Over a career in which he has won 669 games, the NHL record, Devils goalie Martin Brodeur has never endured too many low points.

But he felt for Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who wound up struggling in the playoffs last season and lost his job to Tomas Vokoun. Worse, Fleury was asked to see a psychologist during the offseason and the Penguins brought in a new goalie coach in Mike Bales.

“Good thing they never asked me (to do) that. I could’ve been there for a long time,” Brodeur joked about a psychologist.

As for Fleury, Brodeur said: “I like the way he plays. I like his style of play. It’s always tough when you don’t perform the way people think you can. Your expectations snowball on you a little bit.

“It’s unfortunate. I felt for him when it happened. He’s a good friend of mine, but it’s part of being a goalie. Consistency is a big thing. You can be good one year, but you need to be good every year.”

Brodeur didn’t take notes on Fleury, but he has an idea what might have happened. The goalie seemed unsure about the play in front of him.

“I haven’t really watched much, but I think you can tell by how he exploded out of control sometimes,” Brodeur explained. “That means he doesn’t really know what is going on. He’s just kind of moving as quick as possible and getting himself out of position.

“When he had teams that were maybe a little more tight, you don’t have to make those type of saves. I know. I’ve played on teams that got chaotic and at one point you lose yourself and it snowballs. You can’t play your game. Maybe that’s what happened to him.”

Brodeur said Fleury, who starts in goal tonight against Cory Schneider and the Devils, should bounce back.

“He’s shown that he’s able to play well. You don’t make two trips to the Stanley Cup Finals and then you should be pulled in the playoff series,” he said. “It worked out well for (the Penguins) because of the way Vokoun played, but it’s unfortunate for him. I hope he gets back on track.”

The new goalie coach could help Fleury.

“For me it’s not much technique. It’s more of a mental game and my approach to the game that I rely on my goalie coach. I think nobody can really teach the way I play anyway. It’s a little too late to change, too,” Brodeur joked. “Maybe at this stage (for Fleury) a new voice is good.”

As for his own mental state in seeing his streak of 18 straight opening night starts, Brodeur said he is fine.

“When I come in every season and I’m still healthy, my streak is still alive for me, even though I’m not playing tonight,” he said, adding: “It’s not my choice I’m not playing.”

Asked about what he envisions for the Devils this season, Brodeur said some added offense.

“I think it’s a different makeup than a lot of years. We have a lot of depth that can score goals on different lines,” he said. “Before we relied a lot on the first line and a little bit on the second. That’s why we never really scored many goals. I think this year we feel we’re a little more well-rounded as far as our four lines to be able to cointribute offensively.

“Our system hasn’t changed much. We tweaked a few little things. Since Pete came, for a goalie you know what to expect.”

Star Ledger LOADED: 10.05.2013

719572 New Jersey Devils

Devils lose Alex Urbom on waivers to Washington; Patrik Elias activated

Rich Chere/The Star-Ledger

on October 03, 2013 at 12:48 PM, updated October 03, 2013 at 1:03 PM

PITTSBURGH -- The Devils lost a top prospect today when the Washington Capitals claimed defenseman Alex Urbom off waivers.

Urbom, 22, was the Devils' third pick (73rd overall) in the 2009 entry draft.

"You make these decisions and you don't look back," general manager Lou Lamoriello said. "It's a compliment to the depth we have. No question he's a bright prospect."

The Devils activated Patrik Elias off injured reserve.

Although Lamoriello and coach Pete DeBoer said before and during training camp that several young defensemen were knocking at the door to make the team, no one did.

"It just worked out that way. A couple of veterans made it so they didn't allow the change to be made," Lamoriello explained. "But they'll (young prospects) be in there before it's over."

DeBoer said of losing Urbom: "Anytime somebody you've poured time, energy and resources into potentially moves on, that's not easy. It also bodes to the depth of the organization at that position."

Forwards Rostislav Olesz and Jacob Josefson, along with defenseman Mark Fayne, will be scratches in tonight's opener.

"It was a tough decision," DeBoer said. "I met with the four guys at the end of the pregame skate today. I think all four of those guys played well in preseason and made the decision tonight tough. I think that's a strength with this group, the depth. We're going to have to rely on all those guys at different points and maybe sooner than later."

Mattias Tedenby, on the trip, remains on non-roster IR.

Changes could be made for the home opener,

"We could. We're going to take the night (to decide) but when you have quality people like that sitting on the sidelines, it's definitely an option," DeBoer said.

Travis Zajac, centering a line with wingers Adam Henrique and Jaromir Jagr, said when he was a kid he watched Jagr play for the Penguins.

"Hopefully he's not going to watch me anymore," Jagr joked. "I need help. I need big help>'

Henrique was born four months before Jagr broke into the NHL in 1990.

"It's pretty funny. He's a legend," Henrique said. "Having him and Marty (Brodeur) as teammates is pretty cool."

Star Ledger LOADED: 10.05.2013

719573 New Jersey Devils

Patrik Elias will be in lineup for regular-season opener against Penguins

Rich Chere/The Star-Ledger

on October 03, 2013 at 11:22 AM, updated October 03, 2013 at 11:49 AM

PITTSBURGH-- The Devils will activate Patrik Elias today as they await their regular season opener against the Penguins at Consol Energy Center.

Cory Schneider will start in goal for the Devils tonight against Marc-Andre Fleury of the Penguins.

The Devils' lines in the morning skate:

Ryane Clowe-Patrik Elias-Damien Brunner

Adam Henrique-Travis Zajac-Jaromir Jagr

Dainius Zubrus-Andrei Loktionov-Michael Ryder

Ryan Carter-Stephen Gionta-Steve Bernier

Rostislav Olesz-Jacob Josefson-Mattias Tedenby

Coch Pete DeBoer called Olesz, Josefson, Mark Fayne and Tedenby over at the end of teh skate. They will be scratches.

Tedenby, who is on non-roster injured reserve, is with the club.

Star Ledger LOADED: 10.05.2013

719574 New Jersey Devils

Jaromir Jagr set to make Devils debut in Pittsburgh, where it all began

Rich Chere/The Star-Ledger

on October 03, 2013 at 9:23 AM, updated October 03, 2013 at 9:42 AM

PITTSBURGH – Along with Mario Lemieux, it was Jaromir Jagr who spearheaded the Pittsburgh Penguins’ two Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and ’92.

But Jagr, who will make his Devils debut Thursday night at Consol Energy Center, knows the reception he’ll get from Pittsburgh fans.

“They’re going to boo me,” Jagr said with a smile.

Jagr suggested that many current fans were young when he played for the Penguins and they might not even know he was a star for the team for 11 seasons before he was traded to the Washington Capitals with Frantisek Kucera for Kris Beech, Michal Sivek, Ross Lupaschuk and future considerations on July 11, 2001.

He is being modest. Penguins fans, among the best in hockey, are well aware that Jagr won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player in 1999 and led the league in scoring four times.

Jagr’s days in Pittsburgh spanned more than just the championship days.

“There were different eras in Pittsburgh,” he recalled. “We had a great team, then we went through the bankruptcy, so we had 11 guys from the minors. There were different challenges in Pittsburgh. Every year was a different challenge.

“When we had a good team with talent, we wanted to win the Stanley Cup. Then, with bankruptcy, money was tight. They gave 11 guys from the minors a chance. They rose to the challenge and worked hard and we made the playoffs and went to the second round.”

Jagr, 41, acknowledged that he “played my best hockey” in Pittsburgh, but he also played for some teams that could have won. The Boston Bruins came close last spring.

Does he feel he should have won more than the two Cups he did win, particularly in Pittsburgh?

“We had good teams, but there were a lot of good teams,” Jagr said. “There were 30 teams fighting for one Cup. Sometimes even when you have the best team there is no guarantee you’re going to win the Stanley Cup. So many great players on teams never won it.”

Jagr is no longer the dominant player he was in his Pittsburgh days, but he is still viewed as a big-time player by some.

The big winger said he is still feeling his way with the Devils, having missed all six preseason games.

“I don’t look at myself like I’m a big time player,” he said with conviction. “Any start with any team is tough for anybody. You have to learn the system. I didn’t play in any (preseason) games. Even in practices we (the Devils) play differently than most teams, so you’re kind of thinking more than playing.”

He returns with the Devils to the place where his NHL career began. Jagr has had many “homecomings” to Pittsburgh over the years and points out he’s played longer wearing other jerseys than as a Penguin.

Perhaps Penguins fans will realize this could be Jagr’s final NHL season. Maybe he won’t be booed as he gives the Devils whatever he has left.

“I always want to play the best I can play. I did everything to be good. Some things you cannot control, but I’m going to give my best,” he said.

Star Ledger LOADED: 10.05.2013

719575 New Jersey Devils

Devils notes: Goaltender Martin Brodeur on his relationship with Cory Schneider

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Tom Gulitti

Budding friendship

Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur said his relationship with Cory Schneider, who was acquired from Vancouver on June 30 to be his eventual successor, is still forming.

Because neither dressed for the preseason games the other played in and they often ended up in different practice groups, they didn’t really spend that much time together during training camp.

"I think it’s going to come naturally as we get to know each other," Brodeur said. "I don’t know him. Maybe he doesn’t want me to tell him something about [Sidney] Crosby. Maybe he doesn’t feel comfortable asking me. You get to know the guy and the next thing you know you build a relationship. I just met the guy three weeks ago. These are things that will grow."

New owners drop by

New Devils’ owners Josh Harris and David Blizter dropped the puck for the ceremonial opening faceoff. Harris and Blizter completed the purchase of the team from Jeff Vanderbeek on Aug. 15.

Blitzer wore a No. 30 Brodeur jersey for the ceremonial faceoff.

"I kind of noticed that. I’m going to have to ask for a job," Brodeur joked. "I met one [of the owners] right after the game. They’re just a class act. It’s been a great transition from the old ownership to the new one."

Line juggling

Other than Brodeur in net, the Devils played the same lineup as Thursday, scratching defenseman Mark Fayne, center Jacob Josefson, left wing Rostislav Olesz and right wing Mattias Tedenby (suspected groin strain). Coach Pete DeBoer juggled his line combinations throughout, though.

DeBoer began the game with his two Czech stars, center Patrik Elias and right wing Jaromir Jagr, on the same line, but by the end of the game Jagr has been dropped to the fourth line.

"We kind of juggled the lines again and we’re going to keep doing that until we get some type of chemistry that we like," DeBoer said.

Bergen Record LOADED: 10.05.2013

719576 New Jersey Devils

Devils fall to Islanders, 4-3, in a six-round shootout

Friday, October 4, 2013 Last updated: Saturday October 5, 2013, 12:08 AM

BY TOM GULITTI

NEWARK – Damien Brunner was happy about scoring two goals in his first home game as a Devil.

Afterward, though, Brunner was thinking more about his missed opportunity in the shootout against Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.

Brunner’s second goal of the night pulled the Devils even 7:34 into the third period and eventually got them their first point of the season when the game went to overtime.

Nabokov stopped all six Devils he faced in the shootout, however, as the Islanders spoiled the Devils’ home opener by pulling out a 4-3 victory Friday night at Prudential Center.

Matt Moulson was the only player to score in the tiebreaker, beating goaltender Martin Brodeur to the stick side in the bottom of the sudden-death sixth round.

“Obviously, when you score you set yourself up for the next game with a lot of confidence,” Brunner said. “But I would have been more happy if I scored in the shootout.”

Brunner, who signed a two-year contract after a brief training camp tryout, led off for the Devils in the tiebreaker Friday, but Nabokov threw him off with a poke-check attempt and then made a right pad save.

“He did a pretty good poke-check,” Brunner said. “I still would have had time maybe to lift it up, but sometimes when the poke-check comes fast, you’re not thinking. When I shot low, I knew it was not going in.”

Nabokov also stopped Ryane Clowe, Patrik Elias, Travis Zajac, Michael Ryder and Jaromir Jagr before Moulson finally ended it by being patient against Brodeur.

“He waited me out, so I got deep in my net a little bit and then he got it up quick,” Brodeur said. “He was pretty close to me. It was a good shot.”

Brodeur was up and down in his first start of the season after watching Cory Schneider play in Thursday’s 3-0 season-opening loss in Pittsburgh. Brodeur (23 saves) had not played since Devils’ preseason game in Montreal on Sept. 23 and was away from the team for four days during that stretch after the death of his father.

He showed some rust, but was at his best after Brunner’s second goal tied it, denying Michael Grabner’s hat-trick bid with a blocker save on a breakaway attempt at 9:19. He then threw up his catching glove to get a piece of Pierre-Marc Bouchard’s shot and deflect it over the crossbar with 6:27 remaining.

“I hadn’t played a game in two weeks, let alone a real NHL game that counts, so for me it was good,” Brodeur said. “I enjoyed the way I played.”

The Devils now head off on a five-game Canadian road trip that begins Monday in Edmonton. With a host of new players, they feel the trip can help them come together.

“We’ve got to start somewhere,” Brodeur said. “We have a lot of new guys. You could tell the shuffling in the shootout, just new faces after new faces.It’s going to take time a little bit. We need to give ourselves a little time here and I think it’s a great thing that we’re going on the road to get to know each other, get to learn how to play with each other and living some experiences.”

The Devils got contributions from two of their new players Friday with Brunner’s two goals and a goal by Ryder, another free-agent signing, who gave them a 2-1 lead 4:46 into the second period.

But they made too many mistakes in their neutral zone play, which led to numerous breakaways for Grabner, who scored on one 8:07 into the first period and another 13:43 into the second.

Grabner also set up Frans Nielsen’s goal on the rush that gave the Isles a 3-2 lead 1:01 into the third.

“Three goals for us should mean a win,” Devils coach Pete DeBoer said. “We were a little loose defensively tonight. A small byproduct of that was probably the back-to-back [games], but at the same time we’ve got enough of these back-to-backs [22 sets] that we have to learn to play a little bit smarter game in these situations because these are going to be critical points moving forward.”

Bergen Record LOADED: 10.05.2013

719577 New Jersey Devils

Shootout goal from Matt Moulson lifts Islanders past Devils

By Stephen Lorenzo / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, October 4, 2013, 9:57 PM

In the sixth round of the shootout, Matt Moulson gets one by Devils goalie Martin Brodeur.

ISLANDERS 4, DEVILS 3 (SHOOUTOUT)

It was far from pretty, but the Islanders won’t complain about a win in the first game of their season.

The Isles beat the Devils, 4-3, Friday night at the Rock in Newark, looking plenty sloppy in their season opener before Matt Moulson’s shootout goal in the sixth round proved to be the difference. Moulson beat Martin Brodeur high stick side.

“I don’t know if (coach Jack Capuano) was saving my legs or what,” Moulson joked. “It was good to be out there. You want to be in those situations where you can have a chance to win a game for your team, especially when I didn’t think our line played great today. To help out that way was good because I didn’t help out much during the game.”

Equally as important to the effort was Michael Grabner, who tallied two goals and an assist, and goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, who turned away all six Devils in the shootout to allow for Moulson’s game-winner.

“Part of it is luck,” said Nabokov, who had 26 saves in regulation and OT; Brodeur, playing for the first time since his father Denis, a famed hockey photographer, died Sept. 26, had 23. “Sometimes they couldn’t raise the puck and sometimes I read them and knew what they were going to do. Luck is a big part of the shootouts, but I was trying to follow the puck and make sure my gaps were good.”

The game was tied three times in regulation, but play was hardly crisp on either side. The Devils gained a point and got two goals from recently acquired free agent Damien Brunner, but are winless in two games.

“It was a little sloppy for us,” Moulson said. “The (Frans) Nielsen line played great. We had some young guys play well, Nabby played terrific. For us to be successful this season we’ll need to win ugly games sometimes. I don’t think we were that sharp. You expect that to a certain extent in your first game. . . . We’ll be a lot better (Saturday, in the home opener against Columbus), I’ll guarantee that.”

New York Daily News LOADED: 10.05.2013

719578 New Jersey Devils

Devils’ Brodeur shaky in shootout loss

By David Satriano

October 4, 2013 | 11:35pm

When he was in the prime of his career, the Devils scoring three goals with Martin Brodeur in net would almost surely result in a win. But the 41-year-old future Hall of Famer, whose career could end after this season, was unable to make two one-goal leads stand up Friday night in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Islanders at the Prudential Center in Newark.

Of the three goals Brodeur allowed in regulation, two were through his five-hole, with the other finding its way over his stacked pads on a Michael Grabner breakaway.

“I’d like to get one goal back. I think I made the right decision on the first goal, I was just unlucky and the puck kind of snuck through my pad there,” Brodeur said. “Apart from that, I made the saves that were important in the hockey game.

“It’s amazing how many breakaways that guy gets,” Brodeur added referring to Grabner who had four shots, three on beak aways.

Starting in his NHL-record 19th consecutive home opener, a streak that began in 1993, Brodeur looked shaky in the first period, but kept the Devils in the game in the third period and the shootout with 10 saves and five more in the shootout. Head coach Pete DeBoer wasn’t blaming the loss on his goalie.

“He gave us a chance to win,” DeBoer said. “He found another level there in the third period to let us hang around and give us a chance. Stopped five of six in the shootout. He’s doing everything he can to try and get two points.”

The question now will be how many games will Brodeur start this season, after the Devils acquired Cory Schneider from the Canucks in the offseason. Schneider started the Devils’ first game, a 3-0 loss to the Penguins on Thursday, and could end up playing more games than Brodeur, something that hasn’t happened in Brodeur’s entire career. He has the most wins in NHL history, owns numerous other records, and will be a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame when he is eligible.

But Brodeur saw the positives in the game, despite not getting the two points.

“It’s a big point. We’ve got to start somewhere,” he said. “Shuffling a little bit in the shootout. New faces after new faces. It’s going to take time a little bit. We need to give ourselves a little time here.”

New York Post LOADED: 10.05.2013

719579 New York Islanders

Islanders Win Opener, Edging Devils

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: October 4, 2013

Matt Moulson’s goal in the sixth round of a shootout lifted the visiting Islanders to a season-opening 4-3 victory over the Devils on Friday night.