NEWARK, N.J.—Travis Zajac broke a tie early in the second period with a power-play goal and the New Jersey Devils inched closer to nailing down at least the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.
Patrik Elias added a goal and an assist, and Ilya Kovalchuk scored into an empty net in the final minute to help the Devils win their third straight. Johan Hedberg had 19 saves.
Matt Moulson scored for the Islanders, who have lost three straight.
The win didn't come without a price for the Devils, who lost second-year center Jacob Josefson for 4-to-6 weeks with a broken left wrist.
Hedberg, who started for the second time in 12 games, made his best save late in the second period when he stopped a short-handed chance in close by Michael Grabner.
Zajac broke a 1-all tie 22 seconds into the second period with a power-play goal from the hashmark between the circles. Zach Parise, who also assisted on Kovalchuk's goal, carried the puck in from the point and sent it to Elias along the side boards. Parise took a return pass along the goal line and found Zajac alone for a shot that whizzed past defenseless goalie Al Montoya.
It was the second goal of the season for Zajac, who has played in 13 games this season because of an Achilles' tendon injury.
The first two goals came in the opening 3:57 on rebounds.
Elias gave New Jersey the lead at 1:18 with his 26th of the season.
Montoya stopped a shot from the point by Mark Fayne, but Petr Sykora got the rebound and found Elias alone 10 feet in front of the goalie for a shot into an open net.
Moulson tied it with his career-best 35th goal. John Tavares outfought Fayne for the puck behind the Devils net and sent it to defenseman Mark Streit at the left point. His shot was stopped in front but Moulson, who has scored at least 30 goals in each of his three seasons with the Islanders, backhanded the rebound under Hedberg's pads.
Tavares earned the 200th assist of his three-season NHL career.
NOTES: Islanders rookie LW Micheal Haley and Devils tough guy Cam Janssen went toe-to-toe for about a minute in a slugfest with 7:34 left in the first period. Haley was recalled from Bridgeport of the AHL on Saturday. ... New York D Steve Staios would have played in his 1,000th NHL game had he been in the lineup, but he was scratched. He will probably reach the milestone on Thursday at home against Winnipeg. ... Referee Gord Dwyer was a late addition after Stehane Auger was unable to work because he wasn't feeling well. Kevin Pollock was the other referee. ... Islanders D Matt Donovan, recalled from Bridgeport on Monday, made his NHL debut.
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