Pesce gave the Devils a 2-1 lead at 8:08. He took a pass from Luke Evangelista above the right face-off circle and toe-dragged the puck by Kings forward Andre Lee before beating Anton Forsberg with a low shot under his left pad.
It was his first goal in 35 games dating to Dec. 23 of last season.
Arseny Gritsyuk scored for a fifth straight game and had an assist, and Anthony Mantha also scored for the Devils (7-4-0), who are 5-1-0 in their past six. Jake Allen made 12 saves.
It was the first game for the Devils since acquiring goalie Connor Hellebuyck in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets on Friday for forwards Dawson Mercer and Nick Bjugstad, goalie Nico Daws, the rights to forward Alexander Command, a second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft and a seventh-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. Hellebuyck met with the media before the game on Saturday but did not dress, and it is unclear when he could make his debut.
Scott Laughton scored, and Forsberg made 23 saves for the Kings (2-5-2), who lost for the first time on their five-game road trip (2-1-0).
Laughton gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead at 15:57 of the second, scoring from the left hash marks off a pass from Adrian Kempe, who was behind the goal line.
The goal came 2:24 after Kings forward Joel Armia saved a goal by clearing the puck from the crease after Evangelista's shot had gotten behind Forsberg.
Mantha tied the game 1-1 at 18:43. He took a pass from Jesper Boqvist and weaved through two defenders before scoring with a wrist shot from the left circle.
The Kings appeared to tie the game 2-2 with 4:36 remaining in the third, but the goal was waved off due to a high stick by Trevor Moore, and the call on the ice was confirmed after a video review.
Gritsyuk scored an empty-net goal with 1:05 remaining for the 3-1 final.
