Zajac gets 2 late goals to lift Devils over Coyotes 5-3
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) Taylor Hall and the New Jersey Devils have been a different team at home so far this season.
Travis Zajac scored twice in the final 2:01 and Hall had two goals, leading the Devils over the Arizona Coyotes 5-3 on Tuesday night.
Adam Henrique also had a goal for New Jersey, which is 3-0-0 at home and 0-2-1 on the road.
''You have to win at home if you want to be considered a good team,'' Zajac said.
Hall, acquired by the Devils in a trade with Edmonton in June, has scored all five of his goals this season at Prudential Center.
''It's a building we want to play well in,'' he said. ''I'm comfortable. It's fun to play here.''
Cory Schneider made 28 saves to help New Jersey win its third straight against Arizona dating to last season, and its fifth in seven games against the Coyotes overall.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored twice in the third period for Arizona to tie it before Zajac's two goals. Jordan Martinook also scored for the Coyotes, and Justin Peters stopped 30 shots.
Arizona has lost five straight on the road to fall to 1-5-0 and finishes a six-game road trip at Philadelphia on Thursday.
''We haven't put 60 minutes together yet,'' Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said.
Zajac ripped an off-wing slap shot for a 4-3 lead with 2:01 left, then added an empty-netter with 14 second remaining.
Ekman-Larsson's first goal came 7:51 into the third and his power-play goal at 13:53 evened the game. The second score was Arizona's third power-play goal of the season in 21 chances.
Hall's second goal made it 2-1 about midway through the second period. With New Jersey on a power play, Hall gathered a pass from rookie Pavel Zacha in the neutral zone and carried it into the offensive zone before putting the puck between defenseman Luke Schenn's legs. Hall recovered the puck as he moved to the inside, then snapped a shot that beat Peters cleanly.
New Jersey went 2 for 3 on the power play and killed two of Arizona's three opportunities. The Devils have killed 17 of 19 power plays this season.
''Special teams is big in this league,'' Zajac said. ''If you can score some timely goals on the (power play) and kill some timely penalties, you can win a lot of games. It's good for our group that we won the special teams battle.''
Henrique scored when Reid Boucher's shot ricocheted off his skate and past Peters with 5:57 left in the second. The goal was the first of the season for Henrique, and it also accounted for Boucher's first point of the season.
NOTES: D Jamie McBain was assigned to the Coyotes' AHL affiliate in Tucson, Arizona. McBain did not record a point in three games with the Coyotes this season. ... Jamie McGinn made his season debut for the Coyotes. ... Arizona scratched D Kevin Connauton and C Dylan Strome. ... New Jersey scratched D Steven Santini and C Jacob Josefson. ... Henrique missed two shifts in the first period after being inadvertently clipped by Boucher's stick blade during that line's first shift of the game. ... The teams will meet once more in the regular season, March 11 in Arizona.
UP NEXT
Coyotes: Play at Philadelphia on Thursday night.
Devils: Play Chicago on Friday night.