Gionta skated toward the goal, and Carolina defenseman Glen Wesley went to cover him, leaving the center of the zone open. Elias took a pass from Gionta and beat Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward. "We wanted to be up to par," Devils defenseman Colin White said. "That's one of the things Scotty taught us over the years. We've got to play together to have success."
The Devils scored at 6:39 of the second as the result of a determined play by right wing Grant Marshall. He hauled the puck around Carolina defenseman Bret Hedican. He whirled around the goal, then shoved the puck into the crease. Parise nudged it in.
The Devils scored again at 8:07 of the third when Gionta charged up the ice, along the right boards. Gionta attempted to flip the puck to Elias, but Carolina defenseman Niclas Wallin deflected it in. It was Gionta's 30th goal.
Capitals 4, Maple Leafs 1
At Washington, Alexander Ovechkin picked up an assist in his return to the Washington lineup, and Chris Clark and Ben Clymer each had a goal and an assist in the victory.
Ovechkin, the NHL's offensive player of the month for January, missed Washington's last game with a groin injury.
He assisted on Mike Green's first career goal in the first period, to move within one point of tying Washington's rookie scoring record of 67 points.
Washington goalie Olie Kolzig made 25 saves.
Toronto has dropped two in a row and is 1-2-8 in its last 11 games.
Panthers 5, Thrashers 2
At Sunrise, Florida, Chris Gratton scored twice, Jon Sim had the go-ahead goal in the third period as Florida handed the Atlanta its seventh straight loss.
Joe Nieuwendyk and Nathan Horton also scored for Florida, and Roberto Luongo made 37 saves.
Marc Savard and Vyacheslav Kozlov scored for Atlanta, and Kari Lehtonen stopped 34 shots.
Canucks 3, Flames 1
At Calgary, Alberta, Henrik Sedin scored a goal and had an assist and Daniel Sedin added three assists as the brothers led Vancouver to a win over Calgary.
Anson Carter also had a goal and an assist and Ryan Kesler scored for Vancouver, which moved into first place in the Northwest Division.
It was the third straight victory for the Canucks, who lost the first three games of a seven-game road trip that wraps up on Saturday in Edmonton.
Jarome Iginla scored for the Flames, who lost their third straight game.
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