NEWARK , N.J. -- Yann Danis' goaltending made Patrik Elias' season debut a success.

Danis stopped 23 shots against his former team as the New Jersey Devils beat the New York Islanders 2-1 on Friday night before 14,109 at Prudential Center in Elias' return after missing the season's first 13 games due to hip and groin surgery.

After shaking off some early rust, the Devils' all-time leading scorer looked relatively sharp over the final 40 minutes. He opened the game centering for rookies Matt Halischuk and Niclas Bergfors, but was inserted between David Clarkson and Zach Parise in the second.

"It was an up-and-down game for me," Elias said. "I was a little sore at the beginning, the second was good and, in the third, I started getting a little tired again. But it's expected and I just had to be smart about it."

Elias played 16:01 on 24 shifts and finished with two shots. Devils coach Jacques Lemaire said after the morning skate on Friday he was hoping to give Elias between 17 and 19 minutes.