It wasn't quite the result that the Devils had hoped for in their season opener, but there are still some positives to take out of the 3-0 loss in Pittsburgh.

The first thing to realize about opening night, is that everyone tends to overreact. Had the Devils won, it would have been the same thing, except the other way. It's one game and they played on the road against a very good team. The Devils won't be panicking, they'll be getting ready for another important division tilt against the Islanders tomorrow night.

Today we finally lay to rest an offseason of trials and tribulations. No longer can we lament about the losses of old number 17 and 23. It's about the future, and it's about Devils hockey.

The wait is over. In just a few short hours, it begins anew.

Here are some leftovers from the Devils' 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

For whatever reason, the arena seemed exceedingly quiet until Travis Zajac's second-period goal.

When: 7:30 p.m. ET; Pregame show at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ

Johan Hedberg is starting in goal, the Devils don't have anything to play for, so why not give a guy like defenseman Eric Gelinas a shot Thursday when Pittsburgh comes calling? Alexander Urbom made his season debut on Tuesday night against Montreal and did OK.

If Gelinas -- who the Devils are awfully high on -- wants to see what the NHL is really like, why not play him against an injury-riddled Penguins team with nothing to play for.

2-?Number of regular-season goals Brodeur has been credited with. Brodeur's goal Thursday was his first career power-play goal.

3-?Number of goals Brodeur has scored in his illustrious 19-year career. It also is the number of career goals scored by Devils' forward Cam Janssen in eight NHL seasons.

Three Stanley Cups, four Vezina Trophies, five Jennings Trophies, plus a slew of awards and accomplishments have helped cement Martin Brodeur as one of the NHL's all-time greatest goaltenders.

But four years ago today, Brodeur staked a claim to No. 1.

It might not have been as thorough or impressive a win as Saturday, but tonight was certainly an important and necessary moment in the Devils' season. A home-and-home sweep of a Penguins team that came in on a five-game winning streak? Yeah. Solid weekend for the Devils. Some thoughts...

Diversify yo' game: David Clarkson goes in the corners. David Clarkson screens the goalie. David Clarkson backchecks and forechecks. David Clarkson beats goalies high glove side from the slot. David Clarkson bangs home rebounds. Seriously, how good is David Clarkson? He absolutely does it all. He is the epitome of what you want in a true power forward in a game devoid of them. He has the skill and the speed to gather a bouncing puck at his own blue line and skate it into the offensive zone, the strength to keep his balance despite a backchecking defenseman and the deft hands to find open net on a goalie's glove side while skating through the slot. The Son of Clark might be the Devils' second-best offensive player behind Ilya Kovalchuk and you better believe that man is going to paid a salary commensurate with that skill set and level of play.