SUNRISE, Fla. – The second time is different for Bobby Holik, and that’s a big problem for the Devils.

Holik returned from his second two-game suspension of the season in Saturday’s 4-4 with the Blackhawks at the Meadowlands, and while he did manage only his second point in 10 outings, there was little in his game to suggest he was returning with the same vigor he showed after serving his first suspension in November.

Holik seemed to be laboring under the weight of scrutiny, playing as if self-conscious, rather than spontaneous, and it didn’t look good on him.

”It’s a terrible feeling,” Holik admitted afterwards. ”You really have to watch yourself, and that’s not good enough.”

Beginning here last night as the Devils visited the Panthers, Holik had 10 games left in the regular season to shed the sense that he is being closely watchedand regain the crashing style that powered the Devils during their best stretches of this season and had him leading the team in goals and points, departments now taken over by Petr Sykora.

Now Holik is left wondering how to play. He wanted to be relieved of Crash Line duty two seasons ago, and responded by leading the team in scoring last year. Saturday he was again the center in the latest edition of the Crash Line, with Randy McKay and Krzysztof Oliwa, and he doesn’t even feel he can do that job justice with the imaginary shackles of being a two-time loser in Colin Campbell’s disciplinary book.

”It’s not a comfortable feeling, especially after this [suspension],” Holik said, ”It’s the second time in the same year, and all of the officials have read the reports from the league, and they know what’s going on.

”Coming back is not a comfortable situation for me.”

Last night he returned to the scene of his first incident, the slew-footing of Paul Laus that earned him his first-ever suspension. He returned all the more careful.

”A couple of times, instead of reacting, I had to think,” Holik said of his outing Saturday. ”I know how it works in this league.

”It’s attention that no player likes. That’s why I’m trying to put it behind me and get comfortable playing my game. But I found myself hesitating a little bit, because of my second suspension.”

There was no hesitation when he grabbed Tony Amonte and levered him into the Devil net to prevent a scoring opportunity. Amonte bruised his knee on the post and remained prone a few minutes before rising and quickly returning to action.

Holik earned a penalty on that play, and it was hard to suggest that it was unwarranted, or the result of being watched too closely.

What was less characteristic was the minus-2 rating Holik suffered Saturday, on-ice for three even-strength Hawks goals and Ken Sutton’s tally for the Devils. Holik has been among the Devils’ forward leaders in plus-minus, but Saturday’s effort dropped to plus-10 on the season.

The danger, of course, is that Holik will not recapture his usual on-the-edge effectiveness in time for the playoffs, which probably will start April 22. If he doesn’t, the Devils will be back to being a one-line team, and they don’t usually last long in postseason, when checking lines play a major role.

The danger is that Holik is again in the midst of a second straight end-of-season flop. Last year, as the Devils’ leading goal scorer, he stopped dead, blanked in the final 16 games, a drought he carried into the playoffs, where he was without a goal in his five games. It was a crucial cause of the Devils’ demise against Ottawa, and it’s threatening again. His current goal drought has reached 12 games, the result being he has been passed by Sykora and Jason Arnott in the goal column. *The Panthers’ Pavel Bure may not be back from his injured knee before the playoffs. Out since March 3, Bure is to visit a specialist in Alabama today to determine the extent of the injury and course of treatment … Devils are off until they host Ducks Wednesday. They visit the Penguins Saturday afternoon and host Rangers Sunday afternoon.

Scott Stevens was expected to return to action after missing five games with a groin pull … Arnott and Patrik Elias each went plus-2 against Blackhawks … Lyle Odelein (knee) and Jay Pandolfo (shoulder) both hope to practice today.