NEWARK, NJ - The Devils scored the opening two goals of the game just 3:03 into the game, but Columbus responded with four straight goals, including a pair of goals 35 seconds apart in the third period, as the Blue Jackets escaped the Prudential Center with a 5-3 victory on Monday night.

Nico Hischier and Ondrej Palat opened the scoring as the Devils took a 2-0 lead early. Columbus responded by claiming a 4-2 lead on goals by Sean Monahan (2), Denton Mateychuk and Charlie Coyle.

The two teams finished by trading goals by Timo Meier and former Devil Miles Wood.

The game brought out the feistiness on both sides. The contest featured four fights, 74 combined penalty minutes and a game misconduct for Jonas Siegenthaler for not tying down his jersey. Dmitry Voronkov fought Brenden Dillon and Stefan Noesen, while former Devil Brenden Smith battled Paul Cotter and Siegenthaler threw hands with Adam Fantilli.

"It was definitely an emotional game," Hischier said. "It was a weird game. But there were points on the line and we didn't finish the job. That's what sucks."

"I'm sure it's going to be quite the match next time we play them," Cotter said.

After starting the season 9-0-1 at home, the Devils have lost their last two in regulation in Newark.

Here are some observations from the game:

• Devils defenseman Brenden Dillon skated in his 1,000^th career game against Columbus. His teammates supported him by wearing specialty t-shirts and hats while entering the arena for the game. They all wore jerseys with the No. 5 on them as a tribute during warmups.

Hamilton: “Today was a cool day leading up to this with his 1,000^th game, wearing his shirt, wearing his jersey in warmups. Unfortunately, we couldn’t win tonight. We could have had a better result for all of that.”

• However, the Dillon celebration gave way briefly to a scary moment. During the early minutes of the second period, Dillon fought Columbus’ Dmitri Voronkov, who is 6-foot-5, 234 pounds). The fight didn’t last long as Dillon went to ice face first almost immediately. He stayed down and needed help getting up and labored to the bench. Dillon left the game for a few minutes. He was able to return and finish the second period. The crowd responded with "Dillon! Dillon!" chant upon his return. But he did not play in the third period.

Keefe: "Dillon is doing well. It was all precautionary. We made the decision to not play him anymore.

"All I know is there's no more honorable player in this league than Brenden Dillon. He plays as hard and honest game as anybody in the League. He would never do something like that to another player, that I know for certain. I don't like it at all. I don't think Dillon knows he's in a fight. He's tackled from behind and before he knows it, his helmets off, his jersey is over his head. We saw what happened from there. I don't like it at all."

• The Dillon injury sucked the life out of the Devils and the entire arena. And a mere 27 seconds later, Monahan scored for Columbus to make it a 2-2 game.

Keefe: “I don’t like how we handled those situations emotionally. Not long after the situation with Dillon, they score. So, I don’t like that. We have to do a better job of staying in it, as hard as it is. And quite frankly, it was quite hard to see that. ... I wish we could handle it better because we have to play a hockey game, but there's a human side to all of this at the same time."

• Stefan Noesen continued to show his team-first mentality. After Dillon was injured during his brief bout with Voronkov, Noesen challenged the Russian who has a four-inch and 30-pound advantage. Despite the imbalance, Noesen held his own and certainly made a statement by standing up for a teammate.

• The Devils took the early lead thanks to the captain, and thanks to a little luck. While on a power play in the opening minutes of the game, Hischier attempted a cross-crease feed to Timo Meier on the backdoor. But the puck went off Columbus defenseman Ivan Provorov’s stick and into the net.

• Hischier, who added an assist later in the game, now has a six-game scoring streak for 12 points (6g-6a). Hischier has goals in five of his last six games in that stretch.

• While the goal by Hischier may have been lucky, it was earned luck. The Devils’ top line started the game fast and aggressive, grabbing momentum right from the start and drawing the penalty on Zach Werenski. It was on the ensuing power play that the team converted.

• Neophyte defenseman Simon Nemec keeps playing the role of a difference maker. It was his effort that led to the Devils’ second goal of the game. The Blue Jackets were trying to exit their own zone when rookie Luca Pinelli (playing in his third career NHL game) was receiving a pass above the circle. Nemec stepped up on him and forced a turnover. From there, rookie Arseny Grityuk was able to get the puck to Palat (on his second effort). From there, Palat had the finish. But nice work by two younger Devils to create that offense.

• The Devils thought they had increased their lead to 3-1 in the first period with a goal by Meier. During a scramble in the Columbus crease, bodies and sticks were flying and Meier found the puck and scored. The goal was ruled good on the ice. But after a goalie interference challenge by the Blue Jackets, the goal was waved off due to Stefan Noesen getting his stick into goalie Elvis Merzlikins.

• With Siegenthaler getting tossed and Dillon out with injury, Nemec logged a career-high 30:52 minutes of ice time.