SUNRISE, Fla. -- Three Devils players-- Adam Henrique, Stephen Gionta and Mark Fayne-- made their Stanley Cup debuts in Game 1 against the Florida Panthers Friday night.

"It was a fun game to play. It was physical right from the drop of the puck," Henrique said. "I think that's what we expected. It was a high-paced game."

He was able to enjoy it.

"I think so. The anticipation before the game was there," Henrique said. "I was excited to play. I just wanted to get the game started. I wanted to get that first shift out of the way and go from there."

Gionta also enjoyed it.

"Absolutely. It was fun. The atmosphere was good with the crowd right from the start," Gionta said. "I think we came out strong and got the big win.

"You play the game and after the game you kind of sit back and analyze it. You realize it was a big win for us and it obviously makes everything that much better. After the first and the nerves went away it was fun. It was a fast-paced game. It's everything you think it is and more. I definitely had a great time."

What did the coach think?

"I thought they were good. Tough environment, full building, a real motivated team on the other side," Pete DeBoer said of Fayne, Gionta and Henrique. "I like the fact that we saw a little bit of everything last night. The good start, we lost momentum, we had some adversity there in the middle we had to battle through and find a way to win a close game at the end. It was a game with a lot of different story lines in it for our young guys to experience. I think they'll be better for that."

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The Devils held an optional practice today at the BankAtlantic Center.

Nine players skated, including forwards Gionta, Steve Bernier, Eric Boulton, Ryan Carter and Cam Janssen. Also skating were defensemen Adam Larsson, Anton Volchenkov, Peter Harrold and goalie Johan Hedberg.

DeBoer said Harrold "was very good. I liked our whole defensive corps. Florida is a very fast team. You talk to people around the league and the first thing that comes out of their mouth when they talk about Florida is their speed. I thought we handled it well."

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DeBoer was asked if he gave his team a speech that inspired them to score three goals in the first 15 minutes.

"No, there was none of that," he said. "I think it was a hard week of preparation and some advanced planning trying to manage the six-day layoff the best you can. There is no exact formula for it. We did some planning and give our players credit. They made it work."

He said there are areas in which the Devils can improve.

"Lots of areas we need to improve," he said. "I don't think we played our best game either. There are a lot of little things we can do better. We addressed those this morning. I think we have another level to go to, too."

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The top line of Zach Parise, Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk had 13 shots on goal in Game 1 but no points.

"We created a lot of Grade A chances early in the game," DeBoer said.

Zajac had five shots, Parise six and Kovalchuk two.

DeBoer on Kovalchuk: "I thought he was very good. Reliable, safe, smart decisions. He created offense and at the same time I thought defensively he was very good. That's exactly what we need out of him."

Kovalchuk spoke of his line's performannce.

"I think we created a lot of chances," he said. "We didn't give them much. That's how we want to play but obviously we want to score goals. Because when you create that many chances you have to put some pucks in the net."

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Devils' victory was their first to open a playoff series on the road since the 2000 Eastern Conference finals in Philadelphia. They had lost five straight openers in playoff series than started on the road.