NEWARK — Devils center Brian Boyle said he had plenty of things on his mind besides his battle with chronic myeloid leukemia when he stepped onto the ice Nov. 1 for his first shift of the season. More than anything, he wanted to help his new team win.

“I just wanted to try to react, be comfortable and not hurt the team,” Boyle said after a recent practice.

The Devils did just that, beating the Vancouver Canucks, 2-0, for their ninth victory in 11 games. Boyle’s contribution was modest, and the Devils lost their next four games. But they rebounded to win two straight, and Boyle played a regular shift in the crunch of three games over four nights.

“The third game, I felt like I had more energy, even more so than I had in the past,” Boyle, 32, said, a towel draped over his shoulders and a crucifix dangling from his neck. “And that was probably because of how much I trained and how long I trained when my body was hurt. I knew I was pushing it.”