NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The New Jersey Devils are off to a solid start, thanks in part to a diversified offensive attack. So far this season, 17 players have already scored a goal.
Defenseman Adam Larsson, who has played in only three of New Jersey’s 11 games this season, was the latest to score when he gave the Devils the lead with 9:25 left en route to a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the slumping Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.
The 21-year-old Larsson, the No. 4 pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, capped a comeback in which the Devils (6-3-2) erased a 2-1 deficit in a span of 1:41.
Larsson took a pass from captain and fellow defenseman Bryce Salvador and snapped a shot past goalie Anton Forsberg, who made his NHL debut.
“I’m very happy to get a good play there,” Larsson said. “I got the puck and saw a lot of room in front of me. I saw a lot of the net open, so I shot it.
“It was a good feeling for me. We have seven good defensemen on this team, and we can all score. We just have to keep it up.”
Earlier in the third period, Adam Henrique scored a power play-goal — his fourth tally of the season — off an assist from Jaromir Jagr. Marek Zidlicky got New Jersey even at 1 with a power-play goal in the second period.
Jagr was a little upset with the Devils’ play in the first two periods.
“How many times can we expect to come back like that?” said Jagr, referring to the previous two New Jersey victories in which third-period deficits were erased.
The Devils defeated Winnipeg in a shootout on Thursday night after entering the third period trailing by a goal.
“We have to look at it in a positive way, but we didn’t play well for the first two periods,” Jagr said. “The third period, we put it together. We can make things go a lot easier if we just play the right way.”
Cory Schneider made 32 saves for the Devils.
“He was our best player again,” Devils coach Peter DeBoer said. “We’ve been able to get some good wins because of him lately. Look at all the good teams, and they’re the ones who are getting the best goaltending. We needed this win.”
Jack Skille and Nick Foligno scored for the Blue Jackets (4-7), who lost their fifth straight game.
“It’s disappointing because we had a 2-1 lead in the third period and couldn’t finish,” Columbus coach Todd Richards said. “We did everything right for two periods and end up on the wrong side. We made a couple of mistakes, and they won the game.”
Columbus grabbed a 1-0 lead when Skille scored just 1:06 into the game. Skille took a great pass from the recently recalled Brian Gibbons and fired it past Schneider.
In the second period, just eight seconds after Blue Jackets right wing Jared Boll was sent off for hooking, Zidlicky fired in a wrist shot after skating in untouched.
The Blue Jackets regained the lead, again on a power play. With Travis Zajac off for hooking, Jack Johnson timed a perfect pass to Foligno, who was set up just outside the crease. Foligno got the puck and slapped it past Schneider with 7:30 left in the period.
Foligno later left the ice after he was hit in the face with a puck. He skated off the ice on his own, but went straight to the dressing room for evaluation. Foligno returned for the third period.
The Blue Jackets lost rookie defenseman Cody Goloubef to an apparent knee injury late in the game. Goloubef was helped off the ice, and his playing status is unknown.
NOTES: Devils LW Mike Cammalleri didn’t play for the third straight game. The Devils’ leading goal scorer took an elbow to the face last week against Dallas. He is day to day. … Forsberg was the first goalie to make his NHL debut against the Devils since Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers in 2005. … Gibbons played for the first time this season and got an assist on his first shift. Gibbons later added another. … Johansen played in his 200th NHL game.
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