Gregory Campbell scored twice in a three-goal first period, and the Bruins built a four-goal lead and then held on for a 5-4 victory over the reeling New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night.

The win moved the Bruins (56 points) a point ahead of the Montreal Canadiens in the Northeast Division with nine games to play in the lockout-shortened season. It also put them back in second place in the Eastern Conference, four points behind Pittsburgh, which has played one extra game.

“It’s certainly nice to be there, in first place,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said after his team won for the fifth time in six games. “That was a little bit of motivation tonight. That’s not to say we played a great game, but we accomplished a goal.”

The Devils didn’t accomplish anything in losing their eighth straight (0-4-4). They are four points out of a playoff spot with eight games to go. It’s certainly not what many expected from a team that played for the Stanley Cup last season.

“You know the spot you are in,” Devils coach Pete DeBoer said. “You have two choices. You roll over and die or you get up tomorrow and find a way to turn one win into six or seven or whatever it is going to take.”

To return to the postseason, the Devils need to play a lot better. But so do the Bruins if they are going to make some noise in the playoffs.

This wasn’t their best effort. They stopped playing for long stretches after taking a 4-0 lead early in the second period on Zdeno Chara’s goal.

“The way the game started was very weird, but we capitalized on our opportunities,” said Tyler Seguin, whose third-period goal was the winner. “After going up 3-0, we definitely took the foot off the gas a little bit and you saw what happened. They came back and almost stole one.”

The Bruins scored three times against Martin Brodeur in the opening 8:12. Daniel Paille and Campbell capped the initial outburst with short-handed goals in a 3:21 span.

Patrik Elias, Travis Zajac, Andy Greene and Matt D’Agostini scored against Anton Khudobin (24 saves) for New Jersey, whose losing streak is its longest since 1985-86.

D’Agostini’s goal got New Jersey within one with 37 seconds to play, but Boston didn’t allow another shot.

The first period was the difference, a session that included the sellout crowd of 17,625 booing the home team a number of times and giving Brodeur sarcastic cheers after routine saves.

Not only did the Bruins score three times early, they killed off four penalties, including an early 1:27 two-man advantage. They even had lumbering defenseman Johnny Boychuk miss a penalty shot, or it would have been three short-handed goals.

“Them taking penalties cost us the game,” said Brodeur, who finished with 13 saves. “We didn’t get many chances and they got a penalty shot and scored two goals. That was the big difference in the game.”

Campbell put Boston ahead 70 seconds after the opening faceoff, but it was Jaromir Jagr who did most of the work. The recently acquired 41-year-old controlled the puck between the circles despite being hounded. He eventually got a quick shot on Brodeur, and Campbell pounced on the rebound, sliding it under the 40-year-old goaltender, who was making his 10th straight start.

“We’re clicking a little bit more,” Campbell said. “Either it’s a slow start or a slow finish. Tonight it was a slow second period. We sat on our lead and got comfortable. Give them credit, they worked hard to get back into the game. The onus is on to stay with the game plan, despite the score.”

The Bruins then killed off the two-man disadvantage and Boychuk got his penalty shot just seconds after coming out of the box and being hooked by Marek Zidlicky. Brodeur followed the Boston defenseman’s slow-motion moves and stacked his pads to stop the shot.

It only slowed down the Bruins’ momentarily.

A bad pass by forward Steve Sullivan at the point on another power play set up a 2-on-1 break for the Bruins a little less than three minutes later. Brodeur made the initial stop on Paille, but he swatted the rebound out of the air for his eighth goal.

Campbell got his fourth with a deflection of a shot from the point by Andrew Ference.

“Getting goals, getting points, it’s a good feeling,” Campbell said. “I try to work hard every game. I’ve had a few chances throughout the year. I was happy tonight they went in.

Chara made it 4-0 with a power-play goal early in the second period, but the Devils didn’t give up.

Elias got them on the board with a deflection of a shot by Sullivan, and the momentum seemed to change after Devils’ defenseman Anton Volchenkov elbowed Brad Marchand in the head, drawing a five-minute major and a game misconduct. It left the Devils with four defenseman because Bryce Salvador did not return after being hit in the hand on a shot by Chara earlier in the period .

Instead of putting the game away, the Bruins got lax and Zajac scored shorthanded late in the period to cut the deficit to 4-2.

Greene scored on a slap shot 5:58 into the third period to cut the lead to a goal. But Seguin scored in close off a nice pass by Paille less than two minutes later to give Boston breathing room.

“We battled back,” Brodeur said. “… but nobody is happy about what happened today.”

Game notes

Boston is 12-1-1 when leading after the first period and 17-2-1 when scoring first. … Marchand was wobbly after the Volchenkov hit and he did not return. … The last time the Devils gave up two short-handed goals in a game was against Atlanta in 2006. … The Devils have not won since Ilya Kovalchuk hurt his right shoulder against the Panthers here on March 23. He hopes to return to the lineup soon. … Bruins C Patrice Bergeron (concussion) has started skating and hopes to return soon. … New Jersey recalled rookie goaltender Keith Kinkaid from Albany (AHL) earlier in the day because backup Johan Hedberg was sore.

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Ruslan Fedotenko added an empty-net goal for the Flyers, who began the day in 14th in the Eastern Conference but only six points out of the eighth and final playoff spot. Boston, meanwhile, entered with the third-most points in the conference (46).

The trade deadline can’t arrive soon enough for the Bruins, who lost for the fifth time in seven games after an uninspired stumble through Philly, writes Joe McDonald. Story

“That was a huge two points for us and hopefully from here we can play with confidence like we did tonight and keep on the same tracks and keep going,” Read said. “It’s been kind of a tough season for us and tonight is a momentum builder. With the remaining games, if we keep playing like that, who knows? We just have to keep winning and try to make a playoff run.”

With just 14 games left, Philadelphia is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2007. That made Saturday’s performance against the loaded Bruins somewhat perplexing for the Flyers.

“You feel good about it, but then you’re frustrated too because that’s an upper-echelon team in our league and you ask yourselves, ‘Why don’t you do it more often? Why doesn’t it happen more often?'” Knuble said. “You make the commitment right from the start and everybody was on board today.”

Nathan Horton scored for the Bruins, who dropped to 2-4-1 in their last seven games. They had won four in a row against the Flyers and were unbeaten in their previous 10 trips to Philadelphia (9-0-1).

“We know we have to get better,” said Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, who made 19 saves. “We haven’t played that bad, but it’s uncharacteristic mistakes. And it’s something we need to get rid of.

“It happens but then again … we know we need to get better in all areas. It’s weird because we’re not playing awful and we’re losing games, but we know it’s not good enough.”

Coach Claude Julien said the Bruins aren’t playing with any consistency.

“You get some spurts where you’re seeing some good things, but then the next line going up can’t follow up,” he said. “So we are not able to sustain much right now. The biggest challenge is every game we have one line that’s scoring and the other three don’t do a thing. Then it’s a different line another game and then the other three don’t do it. We can’t win hockey games with just relying on one line per night producing for us.”

The Flyers opened the scoring with their fifth consecutive successful power play, this one coming against the NHL’s top penalty-killing unit (91.2 percent). Knuble one-timed Brayden Schenn’s pass from behind the net and beat Rask low and on the glove side to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead with 4:41 left in the first period.

“We’ve been keeping it simple, moving the puck when we’re supposed to,” Read said of the power-play success. “It’s hard work and you have to outwork the penalty killers, and that’s what we’ve been doing.”

Philadelphia tacked on another goal in the second when Read scored 3:18 into the period. Jakub Voracek found a streaking Read alone between the circles. Read settled the pass, then ripped a slap shot past Rask’s glove side.

“It was one of those changeups,” Rask said. “It was rolling when he shot it. I don’t think I was perfectly positioned.”

The two-goal deficit was indicative of Boston’s recent struggles.

“We fell behind and that’s been happening to us too much lately,” Rask said. “We just can’t bear down and get that lead. … Just go out there and play our game. They were good goals but when we’re on top of our game, we don’t necessarily give up those chances. Or if we do, I save them.”

The Flyers continued to get strong goaltending from Bryzgalov in the second period. His best save came with just more than eight minutes remaining in the period when he sprawled to his left to stop Patrice Bergeron’s diving wraparound try.

Read nearly made it 3-0 about 30 seconds after Bryzgalov’s save, but his breakaway attempt caromed off the right post.

Boston cut the deficit to 2-1 on Horton’s 10th goal of the season 5 minutes into the third. Dennis Seidenberg took the initial shot from the point and it eventually bounced over to a wide-open Horton, who deposited the puck into the empty net.

“Yeah I mean there was already somebody in front that created the screen, but he jumped on that loose puck,” Julien said of Horton. “Absolutely I think we need more of that. Right now, like I said, we’re very average in all areas. Average and not even playing Bruins hockey. Like I said when you only go in spurts, you can’t expect to win.”

Boston went 0 for 2 on the power play and has scored once in its last 16 chances with the man advantage.

Game notes

Before the game, the Flyers acquired defenseman Kent Huskins from Detroit for a conditional 2014 draft pick. Huskins, in his seventh NHL season, was scoreless in 11 games for the Red Wings this season. … Philadelphia defenseman Oliver Lauridsen made his NHL debut. The 6-foot-6, 220-pounder has appeared in 59 games for the Adirondack Phantoms of the AHL this season, with a goal, five assists and 77 penalty minutes. … Before the game, Philadelphia unveiled a statue of Flyers greats Bob Clarke and Bernie Parent hoisting the Stanley Cup to commemorate the club’s back-to-back championships in 1974-75.

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Peterson, who came within 9 yards of breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record, and Watt, who led the NFL with 20 1/2 sacks, were selected by all 50 members of a nationwide panel of media members who cover the league.

Peterson is a three-time All-Pro, while Watt represents lots of new blood. He’s among 17 players making their All-Pro debuts.

“Obviously it’s a huge honor, especially for being such a young guy,” said Watt, a second-year pro. “It’s crazy to even think about. It’s very humbling and very motivating. It makes me want to do it again and again.”

Peyton Manning made his sixth team, the previous five while quarterbacking Indianapolis. He led Denver to the AFC’s best record, 13-3.

Also chosen for the sixth time was Atlanta tight end Tony Gonzalez, who this season moved into second place on the career receptions list. San Francisco linebacker Patrick Willis made it for the fifth time in his six pro seasons.

The 49ers had the most All-Pros, six: Willis, fellow LBs NaVorro Bowman and Aldon Smith, guard Mike Iupati, safety Dashon Goldson and punter Andy Lee.

“As an organization, we take great pride in the success and recognition of our players,” 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said. “This type of acknowledgement only comes from hard work and a team-first mentality, which all six of these men exhibit on a daily basis. They play the game the way it was meant to be played, and are very deserving of this honor.”

Seattle was next with RB Marshawn Lynch, center Max Unger, cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Earl Thomas. All were selected for the first time.

Sherman was incensed when he didn’t make the Pro Bowl. He was thrilled with the news he made the All-Pro team “because that’s comparing the whole league.”

” That is taking individuals and saying they are the best in the NFL at that position and that’s what I wanted to be,” Sherman said. ” The Pro Bowl is taking three from each side, it’s more of a popularity contest. The All-Pro, you’re the best at your position. It doesn’t matter if you’re a fifth-rounder or fourth-rounder or undrafted. If you play the best, you’re All-Pro.”

Denver had three All-Pros: LB Von Miller, tackle Ryan Clady and Manning. No other team had more than two.

The NFC had 17 players and only 10 made it from the AFC.

One rookie, Minnesota kicker Blair Walsh, was chosen.

Also on offense were Baltimore fullback Vonta Leach, making it for the third straight year; Detroit WR Calvin Johnson and Chicago WR Brandon Marshall; Houston tackle Duane Brown; New Orleans guard Jahri Evans, making his fourth consecutive appearance; Baltimore kick returner Jacoby Jones; Miami DE Cameron Wake; Cincinnati DT Geno Atkins and New England DT Vince Wilfork; and Chicago CB Charles Tillman.

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The Bears have already sent out letters asking various teams for permission to interview candidates to fill Smith’s job.

The Bears missed the playoffs for the fifth time in the last six seasons despite starting this season 7-1.

The Bears finished 10-6 but were denied a playoff spot when the Vikings beat the Packers on Sunday.

As reports of Smith’s ouster started to surface on Twitter, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was doing “The Jay Cutler Show” on ESPN 1000 and had to leave early.

“I think it’s going to be a sad day at Halas Hall,” Cutler said. “I have a lot of respect for the guy. He’s made friends with a lot of the players. He’s a players’ coach. I think right now I’m a little surprised, a little sad. Wish I could have done more offensively to help him out.”

The 54-year-old Smith, who led the Bears to the Super Bowl after the 2006 season, was 81-63 over eight regular seasons and was 3-3 in the playoffs.

Smith was under contract through 2013, and new general manager Phil Emery did not engage the coach in contract talks on an extension during the season.

Smith was particularly criticized for Chicago’s struggles on offense. Despite have a Pro Bowl receiver in Brandon Marshall and solid players in Cutler and running back Matt Forte, the Bears ranked 28th in total offense. Smith was a defensive coach, but Cutler wouldn’t say if he would prefer an offensive-minded coach to replace Smith.

“I’ve had both,” Cutler said. “There’s pluses and minuses to argue each case. I’m not going to give a preference on what I want, what I don’t want because I don’t really know at this point. I trust Phil and management and George (McCaskey) and those guys to make the best call. They’re going to get the best possible head coach and assistant coaches and coordinators as they can. So you’ve just got to trust in that.”

Smith also struggled to beat Green Bay. The Bears have lost eight of their last nine against the Packers and six straight.

The other big issue was the Bears’ poor finishes under Smith. Chicago lost seven straight December games since 2010 before snapping its skid with a Week 16 victory over the Cardinals. During Smith’s nine seasons, the Bears were 17-19 in December.

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