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The blog will be in Newark tonight for the area's first regular season game between the Devils and the visiting Dallas Stars. We'll have a post-game breakdown and you can follow me on Twitter for some in-game analysis. (I promise not to tweet every time Ilya Kovalchuk touches the puck.)

To get you primed, here are three points I'll be keeping an eye on tonight.

The Devils D
Henrik Tallinder and Anton Volchenkov figure to help one of the team's weaknesses from last season, but I don't know if you'd label either of them as "puck movers." It will be interesting to see how quickly the D can pounce on loose pucks and send them back down the ice with a good first pass. The Devils have six pretty sweet forwards comprising their top two lines, but they need to get the puck somehow.

The 7th D
D Matt Taormina was recalled from Albany and the Devils will play with 11 forwards and seven D-men tonight. It's an unorthodox approach to say the least, particularly since New Jersey is carrying just 20 players on its roster. According to the Record's Tom Gulitti, head coach John MacLean said he plans to work Taormina in on the power play tonight and it will be interesting to see what other situations he and fellow rookie Alexander Urbom will be used in.

Secondary scoring
The Money Line of Zach Parise, Travis Zajac and Kovalchuk looks like it could rank with the league's best. But how about the combo of Patrik Elias, Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner? And what production can the team get out of its checking unit? The Devils finished 19th in the NHL in goals per game last season. Miss Cleo told me that will improve in 2010-11. By a lot.

Pre-game Links

• Gulitti examines MacLean's influences as he prepares to coach his first NHL game.
• Martin Brodeur is excited, as always, for opening night.
• The Post examines the new-look Devils.
• In Lou We Trust introduces readers to the rookie Urbom.

The rosters for the 2010-11 opener will be finalized at 3 p.m. today. That means quite a few borderline players will be holding their breath until the final roster announcements are made.

Here are some morning links to whet your appetite to what should be a busy day in the hockey world.

Islanders

• Chris Botta wonders if the team would actually cut Jon Sim after having him greet fans at last night’s team open house. He adds his speculation
• The Islanders waived Andy Hilbert and claimed Michael Grabner. Lighthouse Hockey provides some background info on the new acquisition.
• LH also offers its roster speculation here.
• The Post writes that the Isles will look to P.A. Parentau to provide some scoring punch.
• The team site writes on the leadership role of Doug Weight.
• And now for something completely different, a discussion of King James. And we’re not talking about LeBron. Check out the video.

Rangers

• The Blueshirts gave themselves some flexibility today by placing Tim Kennedy and Todd White on waivers.
• Larry Brooks frowns on the Kennedy move in the Post.
• Rick Carpeniello offers a Q&A with play-by-play man Sam Rosen.
• Blueshirt Banter evaluates the Christian Ehrhoff trade rumor.
• BSB also consults the most mystical of oracles, the Magic 8-ball, to gain insight into the 2010-11 Rangers season.
• Though he begins by discussing the White/Kennedy waivers, Jesse Spector notes that Erik Christensen has won the job as the team’s top-line center. It would seem Derek Stepan’s Calder Trophy aspirations take a hit. I’ll reserve my judgment since the Fedotenko-Stepan-Avery line has looked strong and the Rangers desperately need some secondary scoring.

Devils

• According to the Star-Ledger, the Devils will in fact move ahead with a 20-man roster, ending (for now) the trade speculation that surrounded this team since it signed Ilya Kovalchuk. I’m skeptical this plan will work for anything beyond a week or two though.
• The Post has more on the Devils’ cap situation.
• The team site offers some notes from new head coach John MacLean.
• Matt Taromina and Alex Urbom will be staying with the team, according to Tom Gulitti.
• More from Gulitti, the Devils experimented with five forwards on the PP.