Nothing about Zach Parise's game can be called punchless these days.

The Devils' leading scorer netted his third goal in two games, dropped his gloves for the first time in the NHL and rode shotgun on Patrik Elias's overtime winner in a 2-1 victory over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night.

Zach Parise, left, celebrates his first-period goal with Patrik Elias on Friday.
(Bill Kostroun/Associated Press)

Outlasting the lowest team in the East vaulted the Devils back into first place in the conference with 14 games remaining.

"Let's face it, it's a playoff race now," Parise said. "It's been for the last 10 games. It's going to be like this the rest of the season."

Parise's 28th goal staked the Devils to a 1-0 lead in the first period. He was on Elias's left during a 2-on-1 in overtime, and tapped his stick to let his linemate know he was there. When defenceman Paul Ranger took away the passing lane, Elias fired a shot that overpowered the glove of Karri Ramo and found its way in at 4:02.

"It just kind of went through me, I don't know," Ramo said. "I thought I had it. It went through my arm."

It was Elias' eighth winning goal of the season, his Devils-record 60th, and his 14th in overtime — a franchise mark.

"We're getting the wins, and that's the bottom line," Elias said.

The Devils have won two straight following an 0-2-1 skid. New Jersey is doing it without much firepower, netting only 10 goals in six games — including a 4-1 win at Toronto on Tuesday.

Ramo was sharp in making 31 saves in his first game since a 1-0 loss to the New York Islanders on Feb. 21.

Martin Brodeur wasn't tested as much, but finished with 21 saves for his 37th win.

Lecavalier posts 12th game with no goal

"We've had plenty of those games where you're comfortable Marty is not going to give any more up and you have a chance to score the goals," Parise said. "This team for years has been winning games like that. I don't think anyone is squeezing their sticks when it gets close."

Michel Ouellet tied it in the second for Tampa Bay, 1-7-2 in its previous 10.

Vincent Lecavalier, who scored an NHL-best 52 goals last season, went a 12th straight game without one — his worst stretch in seven years — and Martin St. Louis has just two assists in 10 games.

"We haven't scored goals," Lightning coach John Tortorella said. "That falls on our core people."

New Jersey jumped over idle Montreal and Pittsburgh to reclaim first in the East for the first time since Feb. 29 with 84 points, one more than the Canadiens and Penguins.

Ouellet had tied it 1-1 with 2:30 left in the second period on Tampa Bay's second power-play chance and just the Lightning's sixth in four games.

Dan Boyle sent a pass from the right point to the left-circle dot for a shot by Ouellet that got by Brodeur. Ouellet has 12 goals this season, five in the past seven games.

Boyle didn't see much of the third period as he received 19 minutes of penalties after punching Parise and instigating a fight 3:47 in that also earned him a misconduct. The play-making defenceman came in with only 26 penalty minutes in 22 games this season.