Devils 2, Hurricanes 1
Jaromir Jagr celebrated his 1,500th NHL game by scoring his 710th career goal and set up Adam Henrique's go-ahead power-play tally as visiting New Jersey skated to its fourth straight victory over Carolina.
The 42-year-old increased his point total to 1,772 to move past Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne for fifth place on the all-time list. Cory Schneider finished with 39 saves and Scott Gomez recorded two assists for his first points in his second stint with the Devils, who posted just their third win in 11 outings (3-6-2).
Defenseman Justin Faulk scored for the reeling Hurricanes, who concluded a 1-4-0 homestand and have dropped 10 of their last 13 overall. Andrej Nestrasil notched an assist and Cam Ward turned aside 14 shots.
Jagr skated around the back of the net before wristing a centering feed from behind the right post to Henrique, who staved off Carolina's Jay McClement and beat Ward to give New Jersey a 2-1 lead with 14 seconds remaining in the middle session. Jagr's assist was his 1,062nd to move within one of Steve Yzerman for seventh place on the all-time list.
Faulk's initial shot from the point was denied, but Nestrasil kept the puck alive and the defenseman unleashed a shot from the high slot that sailed past a screened Schneider to open the scoring 7:11 into the second period. The Devils answered over 7 1/2 minutes later as Gomez skated toward the left corner before sliding a diagonal pass to Jagr, who beat Ward from the slot for his fifth goal of the season.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Jagr's multi-point performance was his fifth this season and second in the last five games. ... Carolina captain Eric Staal was in the lineup despite suffering a foot injury while blocking a shot in Sunday's 3-1 loss to Detroit. ... New Jersey RW Martin Havlat logged 16:06 of ice time in his return to the lineup. Havlat had been sidelined with a lower-body injury sustained in a 1-0 setback to the New York Islanders on Nov. 29.