NEWARK, N.J. -- The Arizona Coyotes limped into Prudential Center on a four-game losing streak and with their third-string goaltender in net.

With 12 minutes remaining, the New Jersey Devils held a two-goal lead that appeared insurmountable.

The advantage was washed away when Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored twice in a six-minute span, but the Devils showed their resolve when it mattered most.

Center Travis Zajac scored a power-play goal with 2:01 remaining and added an empty-net goal with 14 seconds left to give the Devils a 5-3 victory Tuesday night that sent the Coyotes to their fifth straight defeat.

The five goals were three fewer than the Devils (3-2-1) scored over their first five games.

"It was going to happen," Zajac said. "We were playing well. We were outshooting teams. We were out-chancing teams, at least the last couple games. You knew it was going to happen eventually. It's nice to get a few more.

"We can't be satisfied. We have to keep it going. There's always things we can work on to be better."

In the Devils' first two victories, left winger Taylor Hall was the hero, scoring the overtime winner against the Minnesota Wild and both goals in a 2-1 decision against the Anaheim Ducks. The script appeared to be the same Tuesday when Hall scored his fourth and fifth goals to give the Devils a 2-1 lead early in the second period after Arizona went on top on a goal by Jordan Martinook in the first period.

Even with center Adam Henrique getting his first goal to extend to the lead to 3-1 in the second period, it wouldn't be enough after Ekman-Larsson took over in the third. But Hall stepped up again, hitting Zajac with a cross-ice pass for the power-play winner in the third period.

"Not every game is going to go according to plan," Hall said. "Sometimes when you have a lead, teams find a way to claw back. I thought we showed some good resilience and capitalized on a power play. That's huge when special teams can be relied on like they were tonight."

The Devils went 2-for-3 on the power play and are 5-for-16 with the man advantage over their past four games.

The Coyotes (1-5-0) have failed to earn a point in their past five games -- all on the road -- after winning their opener at home. With starting goaltender Mike Smith week-to-week with a lower-body injury and backup goaltender Louis Domingue struggling in his absence, coach Dave Tippett turned to Justin Peters against the Devils.

The move did little to stem the tide, as Peters allowed four goals on 34 shots in his first start of the season.

"The way we played in the first period, there was lots of optimism there," said Tippett, referring to his team outshooting the Devils 11-6 over the first 20 minutes. "We need more saves. We need more saves to stabilize our group, and we need sustained ability to stay with the game for longer periods of time. If we do that, we'll be fine."

Zajac's winner was a quick shot that beat Peters between the feet, not exactly a bad goal but one the goaltender felt was stoppable.

"That's a save I have to come up with," Peters said. "Crucial time of the game, obviously. There's such a fine line between winning and losing."

Usually that fine line for the Devils comes down to Hall and goaltender Cory Schneider, who turned aside 28 shots but was unable to protect a two-goal lead in the third period. But Zajac was there to bail out the team with two big goals in the final minutes to give the Devils three straight wins at home.

"It's not always the way you draw it up," Schneider said, "but sometimes you have to win games like this, and that's all that matters. My teammates came up big there at the end."

NOTES: Coyotes LW Jamie McGinn made his season debut after sitting out the first five with an upper-body injury. ... The Coyotes scratched C Laurent Dauphin and replaced him with RW Ryan White. ... Coyotes C Dylan Strome was a healthy scratch. ... Coyotes D Jamie McBain was sent to Tucson of the AHL. ... The Devils returned C Blake Speers to Sault Ste. Marie of the OHL on Monday. Speers, 19, played three games for the Devils. ... Devils C Jacob Josefson and D Steven Santini were healthy scratches.