SportsLine.com looks at the players who turned in the top individual performances in Thursday night's action.

Other April stars of the night

Patrik Elias, LW, New Jersey Devils

Patrik Elias(Allsport)

The Devils swept the Florida Panthers by playing a well-executed checking game, but the team still needed someone to step up offensively each night to win games. Thursday night it was Patrik Elias, who scored a goal and added two assists as New Jersey won 4-1. Elias scored his first goal of the playoffs early in the second period to tie the game. With New Jersey clinging to a 2-1 lead, Elias set up a Sergei Nemchinov goal with a perfect pass at 16:12 of the third period, and then assisted on the clincher by Nemchinov two minutes later.

Rick Tocchet, RW Philadelphia Flyers

Rick Tocchet(Allsport)

The Flyers finished first overall in the Eastern Conference, yet some people seemed surprised that they defeated the eighth-seeded Buffalo Sabres in round one of the playoffs. Philadelphia took the quarterfinals series in five games by playing with a great deal of focus and heart, character traits they sought when they re-acquired veteran Rick Tocchet late in the season. Tocchet had a great series and capped it off by setting up three goals as Philadelphia won the clincher 5-2 and proved that Dominik Hasek is indeed human.