In Newark, the Devils took a 1-0 lead over the visiting Calgary Flames on Thursday night, in the opening stanza, when Ondrej Palat scored at 15:39.
From there on, New Jersey chased the game without catching up in a 5-3 loss.
“We had a good first, the second period was bad and, in the third, we were chasing so it’s frustrating,” Palat said. “We need to come out strong and we need to be patient.”
Jacob Markstrom made 37 saves in the win.
“This is the best since I’ve been around [Markstrom] that he’s been with us that I’ve seen him play,” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said. “He’s been giving us a chance to win every night and that’s why you have a goaltender of that caliber.”
Calgary improved to 24-22-5 off their third straight win.
The Flames tied the game, 1-1, when Mikael Backlund struck at 18:10 of the first.
In the middle frame, Connor Zary pushed the Flames ahead, 2-1, at 3:53.
“Honestly I was just gliding towards the net and the crowd kind of scored that one for me, going ‘Ohhh,'” Zary said. “I thought, ‘Oh I should take a couple of strides and check it out.’ That was a nice [assist] from the crowd, though. It was nice to get on the scoreboard and help out. They all count the same.”
New Jersey dropped to Devils (25-21-3) off their fourth loss in the last six matches.
“In the second period, we just came out like a pack of hyenas,” Calgary’s Jonathan Huberdeau said. “That’s the kind of game we have to play. I think that’s when we’re tough and we have to keep it going because it’s a huge road trip for us.”
In the third period, Kevin Rooney scored at 2:55 to give the Flames a 3-1 lead.
New Jersey got that one back when Nico Hischier trimmed the deficit to 3-2 at 4:02 off a breakaway.
“We have to be stronger in front of our net,” said Hischier, the Devils captain. “We had our chances, but we didn’t bear down so it’s frustrating for sure. But there’s still a lot of hockey left.”
Andrei Kuzmenko s added a marker, his second in as many games, at 9:56 of the third for a 4-2 advantage to the Flames.
“The one thing that I’ve noticed over the last couple of games is he’s heavy and strong on it, so he’s able to protect it,” Huska said. “He can spin off guys, and when he gets a chance to shoot, he’s got an excellent shot.”
Palat hit for a double at 13:46 to cut the deficit back to one at 4-3.
Andrew Mangiapane hit an empty net at 18:28 to seal the 5-3 win for the Flames. 
Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves in the loss.
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