Devils 2, Islanders 1: Travis Zajac scored to snap a tie with 6:57 remaining in the third period as visiting New Jersey improved to 4-1-2 in its last seven contests.

Adam Henrique tallied for the second straight contest and Jaromir Jagr notched an assist for his 1,722nd career point, putting him just one behind Hall-of-Famer Mario Lemieux for seventh place in NHL history. Cory Schneider (30 saves) posted his first victory in December (1-3-2) for the Devils, who welcomed the return of captain Bryce Salvador from a 31-game absence with a foot injury.

Frans Nielsen scored to extend his point streak to five games and Evgeni Nabokov finished with 23 saves for the Islanders, who played without John Tavares and fell to 0-4-4 in their last eight home contests. The captain's streak of 246 consecutive games played came to an end due to a lower-body injury.

Zajac gave New Jersey a 2-1 lead - albeit in painful fashion - as defenseman Marek Zidlicky's one-timer from the left circle deflected off his left shoulder and into the net. Zajac remained on the ice for a few moments before making his way to the bench.

New Jersey drew first blood 11:37 into the first period as rookie Reid Boucher backhanded a blind pass deep in the right circle to Henrique, who beat Nabokov from in close for his eighth goal. New York answered midway through the third after Kyle Okposo fed Nielsen from his knees before the latter wristed a shot over the glove on Schneider.

GAME NOTEBOOK: With Tavares sidelined, C Brock Nelson joined LW Thomas Vanek and Okposo on the Islanders' top line. ... Nielsen netted his 13th goal to pull him into a three-way tie with Vanek and Tavares for the team lead. ... New Jersey D Anton Volchenkov was scratched due to "total body soreness," according to the team.