Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta each had a goal and an assist in the Devils' 3-1 victory against the visiting Panthers last night.

Defenseman Paul Martin ignited a two-goal spurt in a 62-second span early in the third period, and Scott Clemmensen came within 11:18 of his first shutout in more than four years as the Devils won their second consecutive game after losing four in a row. Clemmensen finished with 23 saves.

Michael Frolik, the 10th pick overall in the 2006 draft, spoiled Clemmensen's bid for a third career shutout, scoring his first NHL goal on a power play.

Elias and Gionta combined to break a scoreless tie at 6:47 of the second period on what turned out to be the Devils' only shot on Tomas Vokoun in the stanza.

Dainius Zubrus, who had two assists, started the play by collecting the puck along the sideboards and sending it into the right corner to Gionta. The little wing found Elias alone in front and he backhanded the puck into an empty net after deking Vokoun out of position.

A career backup who is now getting a chance to play with Martin Brodeur sidelined for a couple of months, Clemmensen was at his best in the minutes after Elias' goal, stopping David Booth, Nathan Horton and Frolik on excellent scoring chances.

Other games

• Canadiens 3, Senators 2: Alex Tanguay scored on Montreal's fourth shootout attempt to give the Canadiens a road victory against the Senators. Tanguay put a backhand past Alex Auld after Andrei Markov scored the only goal on Montreal's first three attempts..

• Canucks 3, Wild 2: Daniel Sedin scored the winning goal midway through the third period in the Canucks' victory at Minnesota. Goaltender Curtis Sanford made 28 saves for his first win since Dec. 12, 2007, a span of 13 games.

• Blackhawks 5, Stars 3: Kris Versteeg had a goal and two assists for the Blackhawks in a road win at Dallas. Patrick Kane added two goals for Chicago. Defenseman Darryl Sydor finished a minus-2 in his first game with the Stars since being acquired from the Penguins in a trade Sunday.

Notes

• Blues defenseman Erik Johnson, out for the season after injuring his knee during a preseason team golf outing in September, had surgery to repair a damaged ligament. Johnson, the first overall pick of the 2006 draft, is expected to be ready for training camp next season. He tore two ligaments when his foot got stuck in a golf cart. ... Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin underwent surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He is expected to be sidelined about six months.