NEWARK - Dainius Zubrus is a natural right winger, but he says that if he has to play centre, he couldn’t ask for better wingers than Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk.

“I’m playing with two great wingers,” Zubrus said prior to the New Jersey Devils’ game against the Canadiens Thursday night. “The last game we created quite a bit and we scored a goal, but there are chances to do even more.”

Against the Canadiens, Zubrus set up Parise for the Devils’ first goal and his third-period goal tied the game 3-3 and set up the Devils for a 5-3 come-from-behind win. Zubrus finished with a goal and two assists.

Zubrus has been pressed into service because Travis Zajac and Adam Henrique are injured, and head coach Peter DeBoer felt Zubrus was the right man to fill a hole on the top line.

“He’s doing a great job,” DeBoer said. “It’s not a natural position for him, but he’s played there before and it’s a little easier to convince him when your wingers are Parise and Kovalchuk.”

Zubrus, who played parts of three seasons with the Canadiens early in his career, said his versatility has been an asset since he signed with the Devils as a free agent in 2007.

“I started my career as a right wing and I played centre when I was with Washington,” said the 33-year-old who reached a milestone earlier this season when he became the first Lithuanian-born player to log 1,000 games in the NHL. “Then I came here and I’ve played every position. I’ve played left, I’ve played right and I’ve played centre.

“It’s a little different because, as a centerman, you want to be aggressive but, at the same time, you’re backing people up.” he said. “You have to be the safety guy and you’re not always finishing your checks like a winger. I’m not saying there’s less responsibility, but there’s a little more freedom.”

Zubrus said he and his new linemates talk a lot and that it’s easy to make adjustments on the fly because the two guys on the wing “have great hockey sense.”

DeBoer said he hated to break up the trio of Petr Sykora, Patrik Elias and Zubrus because they “have great chemistry.” He’s using 19-goal scorer David Clarkson in Zubrus’ spot and, while he hates losing Clarkson from the third line, newcomers Steve Bernier and Alexei Ponikarovsky have stepped up. Bernier, a Quebec City native, was called up from the minors earlier this week while Ponikarovsky was acquired from Carolina two weeks ago as the Devils got an early start on the trade deadline.

Zubrus played his last game with the Canadiens in 2001 but he continues to have ties to Quebec. He’s married to model Nathalie Sanschagrin and the couple spends the offseason in Blainville.

The Devils have been playing under a cloud this season. One of the team’s principal owners wants out and the other one is looking for new financing. Then, there’s the question of whether the team will trade Parise rather than let him leave through free agency.

Zubrus insists that these aren’t matters that concern the players. He said the focus is to sew up a playoff spot and the Devils took a huge step in that direction Thursday night.

phickey@montrealgazette.com