COLUMBUS, Ohio _ The coaching staff challenged the Devils' players to regain that hard-working, smart identity that marked the season's first month. The veteran leaders, specifically, were challenged to start producing more.
The whole team knew a positive response was needed after their last three games yielded three of their more lethargic efforts of the season. Never mind the importance of finally playing a Metropolitan Division game.
So give the scrappy Devils some credit because they responded in all areas just the way they needed to in a 4-1 win over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena to conclude a 2-1-0 road trip.
Taylor Hall and his rookie linemate Jesper Bratt each had a goal and an assist while that top line's center, No. 1 overall pick Nico Hischier, had his first three-assist game. Cory Schneider, strong from the start when the Devils were not, stopped 41 shots and Stefan Noesen also had a goal and an assist.
The Devils (16-7-4), establishing traffic at the crease that was largely absent in their last three games _ a 3-2 loss to the visiting Panthers on Nov. 27, Friday's 2-1 win at Colorado and Saturday's 5-0 loss at Arizona _ moved ahead of the Blue Jackets (17-10-1) and into first place in the division.
The teams meet again on Friday night at Prudential Center.
Two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves for the Blue Jackets.
"We've had a solid start to the season," Hall said prior to Tuesday's contest. "I think you look at our record and everybody is happy about that. Our play has slipped of late. If you look at our last three games you could come up with a couple of excuses as to why we've come up short. Tonight is a game where there's no excuses."
Tuesday marked just the Devils' third division game, the last being a 3-2 win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 14. The Devils also play the Rangers at the Garden on Saturday night.
Bratt, lifting the rebound of Hall's shot off the rush, capped the scoring at 11:06 of the third period.
The Devils finally resembled the team they want to be in the second period, scoring twice to take a 3-1 lead into the third period.
Hischier, leading a rush up the right, put a perfectly timed pass on Hall's stick for a redirection at the far post as the Devils went up 2-1 at 4:47.
Noesen then made it 3-1 at 19:14 by getting to the crease and muscling in a loose puck after Miles Wood's shot from the left knocked off Bobrovsky's mask with Hischier getting his second assist.
Travis Zajac, with his first point in the 10 games since he returned from offseason surgery to repair a torn left pectoral muscle, opened the scoring by poking in his own rebound at 4:24 of the first period. That snapped the Devils' scoreless streak at 78:13 stretching to Brian Boyle's power-play winner against the Avalanche.
Noesen, forechecking with Zajac to create a turnover, snapped his seven-game scoreless streak and Marcus Johansson, with the secondary assist, got his first point in his six games, though that stretched to Oct. 19 after he missed 13 games because of a concussion.
But the Blue Jackets overwhelming puck possession dominance in the first period finally paid off as Nick Foligno, parked at the crease, tipped Oliver Bjorkstrand's shot from the left past Schneider to tie the game at 1 at 13:46 of the first period just as Zajac was stepping out of the penalty box after tripping Artemi Panarin at 11:44.
Schneider, though, made some of his toughest saves in the first period, sliding to his right to stone Boone Jenner's one-timer at the crease and peering around Jenner's screen to glove Panarin's wrist shot from the right circle.
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