PITTSBURGH — Jeff Carter picked up his first goal in Pittsburgh as part of a first-period deluge and the Penguins held on for a 7-6 victory over New Jersey on Tuesday night.

Pittsburgh led 6-0 entering the third before the Devils put together a furious rally. Andreas Johnsson pulled New Jersey within one with 41 seconds remaining but the Devils couldn’t generate another shot with the goaltender pulled.

Carter, acquired from Los Angeles at last week’s trade deadline to give the Penguins depth, speed and a dash of grit as the playoffs loom, beat Scott Wedgewood with a blast from between the circles that finished off a four-goal opening period.

Bryan Rust, Mike Matheson and Brian Dumoulin also scored in the first for Pittsburgh, which bounced back from a dismal loss to Buffalo on Sunday night to move within a point of Washington and the New York Islanders for first place in the East Division.

Sidney Crosby and Evan Rodrigues both had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh. Jared McCann added two assists to give him 15 points in his last 14 games.

Tristan Jarry finished with 24 saves to win for the seventh time in his last eight starts but endured a shaky third period as the Devils nearly pulled off a stunning comeback.

Wedgewood’s 13th start of the season was also his most forgettable. He stopped just nine of the 13 shots he faced before being pulled in favor of Aaron Dell to start the second period. Dtell didn’t fare much better, surrendering a goal on the first shot he faced as Pittsburgh posted its highest goal total since March 3, 2020, against Ottawa.

The Devils, as they did in losses to the Rangers over the weekend, made it interesting after falling woefully behind.

Johnsson, Nico Hischier, Yegor Sharangovich, Nathan Bastian, Jack Hughes and Nolan Foote all scored the third period but couldn’t stop New Jersey from dropping their seventh straight. The Devils are just 1-9-2 in their last 12 games, with three of the losses coming at the hands of the Penguins.

Things don’t get any easier for New Jersey. The teams meet again in Pittsburgh on Thursday and Saturday.

The Penguins have used a soft portion of their schedule to close in on Washington and the Islanders in the East, though the momentum appeared to be blunted following a surprising setback in Buffalo on Sunday in which Pittsburgh came out flat and never recovered.

Yet coach Mike Sullivan has praised his team’s resilience all season.