Jamie Langenbrunner endured a difficult return to Dallas nearly three years ago, suffering a knee injury that forced him to miss 28 games.

He'll hope for better luck in his second game as a visitor against the Dallas Stars when the New Jersey Devils complete a season-opening two-game road trip on Saturday.

Langenbrunner, who spent his first 6 1/2 seasons with the Stars, will be making his second trip to Dallas and first since Nov. 28, 2003, a 2-0 loss for the Devils (1-0-0). He logged just under five minutes of ice time before suffering the knee injury and was sent back to New Jersey before the game even ended.

"I came back once, but in the first period, I blew out my knee," the right wing said. "It's always fun to go back there, I had a lot of good times there, and it will good to see some familiar faces I haven't seen in awhile."

Langenbrunner was drafted in the second round by Dallas in 1993 and scored 10 goals as a member of the Stars' 1999 championship team. He was dealt to New Jersey at the trade deadline in 2002 in the deal which brought Jason Arnott to Dallas.

"You know, it's always emotional going back to a place that you called home for a long time," Langenbrunner said. "But a lot of time has passed and most of the guys on the team have changed, but at the same time, it will be a little emotional going back to a place that you called home."

New Jersey got its season off to a good start with a 4-0 victory at defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina on Friday. Zach Parise scored twice, Brian Gionta had three assists and Martin Brodeur stopped all 29 shots for his 81st career shutout.

It was also the 447th victory of Brodeur's career, moving him into a tie for third place all-time with Terry Sawchuk.

Parise scored 26 seconds into the game and Langenbrunner and Patrik Elias also added goals in the first period for Devils, who held a 14-6 advantage in shots on goal through 20 minutes.

Gionta was delighted to beat the team that eliminated the Devils in five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.

"Since I've been here, it's happened twice where they knocked us out," Gionta said. "We're not happy unless we win the Cup, so to get knocked out by them, it's nice to come back in here and get a little revenge and start the season off nice."

Dallas (1-0-0) opened with a 3-2 overtime victory at Colorado on Wednesday. Goaltender Marty Turco fed a streaking Darryl Sydor exiting the penalty box and the defenseman scored the game-winner.

"That's every goalie's dream, sending a pass right up the middle for a score," Turco said. "I don't plan on scoring any goals or helping out on the offense too often, but that was great in a situation like that where emotions are running high in the third and overtime. Coming off another penalty, and just seeing Darryl coming out of the box and a quick, bang-bang play, that was a pleasant surprise."

The Stars rallied from a 2-0 deficit after two periods as Mike Modano and Loui Eriksson scored 28 seconds apart in the first two minutes of the third to tie the game.

"This is a great way to start the season," Turco said. "But I'd rather not make a habit of spotting the opponent two-goal leads."