BOSTON — All that waiting for this?

The Bruins finally got some important players back into their lineup on Thursday night, and were given some other items that should have qualified as late Christmas gifts: They got to host a team that was tied for the fewest points in the NHL and had a woeful 3-12-3 road record, and that team had to scratch its best player, Taylor Hall, because of a lower body injury.

Despite the return of [...]

BOSTON — All that waiting for this?

The Bruins finally got some important players back into their lineup on Thursday night, and were given some other items that should have qualified as late Christmas gifts: They got to host a team that was tied for the fewest points in the NHL and had a woeful 3-12-3 road record, and that team had to scratch its best player, Taylor Hall, because of a lower body injury.

Despite the return of defensemen Zdeno Chara and Kevan Miller and winger Jake DeBrusk, the B’s sank to a 5-2 loss to the Devils at TD Garden.

In spite of the returns, the Bruins’ start looked more like an extension of their last game before the break -- a 5-3 loss at Carolina in which they gave up four straight goals after taking a 2-0 lead in the first 8:56.

The B’s were down by a goal after just 25 seconds. Disorganized after Brad Marchand was shaken up during an offensive zone faceoff and slowly left the ice, the B’s gave the Devils easy entry into the offensive zone, and Andy Greene had time to find his defense parter, Damon Severson, wide open in the right circle before Danton Heinen could catch up to him.

The Devils stretched their lead to 2-0 at 15:25, on Kyle Palmieri’s power play goal. Palmieri, who had been tripped by ex-Devil John Moore at 14:50, caught a big break on his 19th of the season, a slapper from high in the right circle that Halak booted away with his right pad, but the puck then hit Brandon Carlo’s knee and popped past Jaroslav Halak.

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, who saw his team outshot 12-10 in the first period, began to tinker in the second. Danton Heinen, who had started as left wing on the second line with David Krejci and DeBrusk, was dropped down to the fourth line and replaced by Joakim Nordstrom. The move paid off, although not quite as expected: The B’s closed within 2-1 on a goal from the new version of the fourth line.

Chris Wagner scored it 4:53 before intermission, with Heinen credited with the secondary assist. The primary helper came from Moore, who crept up from the left point, gained control of the puck in the left circle, and fed to a wide-open Wagner charging the net for his fourth goal this season.

The Bruins enjoyed a 19-9 gap in shots in the middle period, and entered the third with a nearly a full power play. They didn’t generate much, though, and were trailing again by two goals by the time the period was five minutes old: Torey Krug’s one-timer from just inside the point was blocked by Blake Coleman, and after Halak decided against racing out from his crease to try to play it, Coleman fought off Carlo’s break-up attempt with enough time to put a move on Halak and score at 4:15.

The Devils put it away with 7:17 to go. On a play that started with Stefan Noesen decking Ryan Donato on a high hit near the Devils’ net, Nico Hischier finished an odd-man rush by faking Halak down and lifting a shot over him. Patrice Bergeron answered that goal with 2:55 to play, but Mackenzie Blackwood stopped a Brad Marchand after that to guarantee his first NHL win, and Coleman put an empty-net power play goal home with 48 seconds remaining.