Last night was the home opener for the New Jersey Devils and it was the first hockey game played in the brand new, state of the art Prudential Center. The new arena is nicknamed “The Rock” to go along with the Prudential logo, but the Devils defense did nothing close to being rock solid.The Devils allowed 3 third period goals on their way to a 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators. The loss didn’t send the sellout crowd of 17,625 home too happy.

Via Kristie Ackert NY Daily News:

It would have been nice, but I guess it was not meant to be,” said goaltender Martin Brodeur. “It’s a great building to play in. It’s kinda early to tell, but it seems to have a great atmosphere, and the technology is a lot different (than the Meadowlands). It looked good.”

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was on hand for the festivities in Newark. He mentioned how great the arena was and how it was great for the Devils, the fans and for the NHL. “This gives the fans of the Devils and the Devils a real home.”

With the score tied 1-1 going into the third period ,the Devils allowed goals to Shean Donovan, Mike Fisher, and Daniel Alfredsson . Ottawa owns the NHL’s best record at 9-1. The Devils started the season on the road with 9 straight road games, tying Quebec (1980-81) and Carolina (1999-2000) for the longest road trip to start an NHL season.

The new arena marked a new beginning, for the Devils, for the city of Newark and for the NHL. If last night was any indication of things to come, the Devils might be thinking how good the Izod Center (formerly Continental Airlines Arena, the Devils home for the last 25 years) look now? Probably still not great, but at least for one night the new arena took away from the attention on the ice.