COLUMBUS, Ohio -- This is Nick Foligno's first season as the Columbus Blue Jackets' captain, and it has not been a smooth ride.

The team went off the rails early with an eight-game losing streak to start the season. Foligno's game went south quickly, too, with long scoring slumps.

"You're only human," Foligno said. "You start to question everything."

But on Thursday against the New Jersey Devils -- if only for one night -- the cloud lifted and the hockey gods smiled.

Foligno recorded his second career hat trick and had his first four-point game of the season, and the Blue Jackets broke out for an easy 6-1 win over the New Jersey Devils in Nationwide Arena.

"I've waited for a night like this," Foligno said. "But so have a lot of other guys. We were all there, all going tonight."

Center Brandon Dubinsky, left winger Brandon Saad and left winger Rene Bourque also scored for the Blue Jackets, while left winger Matt Calvert and center William Karlsson set a career-highs with three assists each.

Calvert, Karlsson and Foligno have been a line for the past month.

"We've been playing really hard and creating good energy," Calvert said. "But it feels great to create some goals, and it was great to see Nicky get them.

"This season has weighed on him; it's weighed on everybody. But he's the captain. It's been hard, and he has to carry the weight of the whole team. I'm happy for him, but this is just the start."

The Blue Jackets, who are 10-4-4 since Jan. 13, took a 3-0 lead after one period and were never challenged.

Rookie goaltender Joonas Korpisalo finished with 25 saves for Columbus (25-29-8).

The Devils (30-25-7) lost for the fourth time in five games, and they pulled goaltender Cory Schneider from a start for only the second time this season.

Schneider exited before the start of the second period after stopping just eight of 11 shots in the first. His replacement, Keith Kinkaid, stopped 10 of 13 shots.

The six goals matched the most New Jersey has allowed all season.

"If we have an honest assessment of it, we weren't ready to play in the first period," Devils coach John Hynes said. "That was the biggest difference in the game.

"Anytime you're not ready to play it's concerning. We have to answer the 'why?' question first and foremost."

New Jersey's only goal was scored by center Reid Boucher at 1:38 of the second period to make it 3-1, but the Jackets scored twice later in the period to pull away.

Foligno set a career high in 2014-15 with 31 goals, 42 assists and 73 points. However, 2015-16 has been a struggle for him: He came into the game with six goals in 52 games.

"It's nice for Nick to get a couple of bounces; he was around the net," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "That's the part of the game I know Nick is concentrating on, being around the net more.

"I'm happy for him. It's been a grind for him because he wants to help the team, he wants to put up numbers."

Foligno got started on his second career hat trick early against New Jersey.

At 5:20 of the first, Foligno came through the slot with speed and was fed the puck perfectly by Calvert, set up behind the Devils' net. Foligno got low for more torque and buried the puck through Schneider.

Less than three minutes later, Foligno scored an odd-angle goal -- he fired the puck off Schneider's skate and into the net from below the goal line -- to push the lead to 2-0.

The Jackets pushed the lead to 3-0 on Saad's 23rd goal of the season at 19:13 of the first, but Foligno got back to work in second.

At 13:32 of the middle period, Foligno skated through the right circle and fired a snap-wrister on Kinkaid that found a tight space inside the near post.

The Jackets pushed the lead to 5-1 on a power-play goal at 18:47 of the second, and Foligno played a part there, too. Off a Kinkaid rebound, Foligno gathered the puck, spun and fired off his backhand across the slot to Dubinsky, who buried it into an empty net.

The Blue Jackets, who have won five straight against the Devils, lost defenseman Jack Johnson to an upper-body injury in the second period. He did not return.

NOTES: New Jersey came into the game as the stingiest club in the NHL, having allowed only 2.25 goals per game. ... Blue Jackets RW David Clarkson was activated from injured reserve but he is still likely a few days from playing. Clarkson has been out with an upper-body injury since Jan. 2. He has played in only 18 games this season and needs a few more practices to get up to speed. ... Columbus D Justin Falk cleared waivers and was sent to AHL Lake Erie.