Devils on the move

The Devils already have matched their 81point total of last season, demonstrating how horrid their start was under John Maclean. How much better they will prove under Pete Deboer will be determined in their final 15 games.

The 10 Days of Noisy Neighbors continues tonight for the Devils, when they open a homeand-home with the Flyers at Prudential Center.

They finally finished three in a week with the Islanders last night at Nassau Coliseum, with a Rangers game inserted Tuesday. They end this stretch of Atlantic Division locals tomorrow when they visit Philadelphia, with the chance to overtake the Flyers in the standings.

It has been a season of repair and atonement for the Devils after missing the playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons. They stood 26-12-4 in 32 games as they visited the Islanders last night, after going 12-12-1 in their break-in with Deboer.

“We have a good thing going,” Martin Brodeur said. “We had that unbelievable stretch (23-3-2) last year that was out of this world that we didn’t get this year.”

The Devils have split four games with Philadelphia this season, winning one shootout. The last time they met, the visiting Devils ran off to a 6-0 lead before giving up the final four goals of that game.

Johan Hedberg holds both victories over the Flyers this season, but he was slated to face the Islanders last night.

Brodeur says his team is on the rise.

“We never really challenged the top teams, but we’re playing them well,” Brodeur said. “We’re facing them more and we’re feeling a lot more comfortable playing against teams that have had success all year, teams that are above.

“There are a lot of good things going on.”