Defenseman Kelly excited for Albany Devils' home opener Saturday

Veteran defenseman Dan Kelly has been around for six Albany Devils' home openers. He will play in his fifth Saturday against the Portland Pirates at the TU Center.

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ALBANY — ‘Exciting’ is the word that generally comes up when talking about home openers.

That’s what defenseman Dan Kelly thought when he was a rookie in the lineup Oct. 9, 2010, the first home opener for the Albany Devils. He’s been on the roster for all five of the Devils’ home openers, in the lineup for four of those.

His memories of that first home game at the Times Union Center revolve more around the experience as a rookie than the action of the game, but he remembers enough of that to recall the outcome.

“We’re going back, what, five years now?” the 26-year-old said. “I remember I was just happy to be in the lineup. It was my rookie year and, coming in, I didn’t know what to expect.

“I don’t think we won that one.”

It was a 5-3 loss to the Adirondack Phantoms, but the Devils have won their last two home openers, and will look to make it three straight on Saturday when they host the Portland Pirates at 5:05 p.m. Albany also hosts Binghamton Sunday at 3.

Kelly turned in a plus-1 in that first home opener. He has since become the franchise leader in career plus-minus with a plus-38 over 299 regular-season games.

The Devils have averaged a crowd of 4,405.6 on opening night, the 5,235 that welcomed Kelly as a rookie being the largest.

With the help of a new initiative to bring in more fans, a larger crowd may welcome the six rookies on this year’s squad on Saturday.

“People come in with a little more energy,” Kelly said of openers. “They haven’t seen hockey all summer, and they’re excited for it to come back. They’re excited to cheer on their players and see what else we’ve brought in, the new guys. You get that anticipation that doesn’t come any other time of the year.”

“I think everybody’s going to be really excited,” Albany coach Rick Kowalsky said. “The young guys were really impressed when they got here and saw the room, when they got to practice here and live in it, I guess.”

This is the latest in the season the Devils have played their first home game, having spent the first two weeks of the season on the road. They enter the weekend 1-1-1-0.

Kelly said the youth and energy on the front end of the lineup has opened up the Devils’ game a little bit.

“We’re a lot faster this year,” he said. “Our systems allow us to make a little more of our playmaking abilities. We’re just getting the new guys settled in.”

Reach Gazette Sportswriter Bill Cain at 395-3154, [email protected] or @Bill_Cain_ on Twitter. Read his blog, “The Devils’ Details,” at www.dailygazette.com/weblogs/devils/.