Zach Parise notched a hat trick before a crunching hit from two players sent him to the locker room midway through the second period, and the New Jersey Devils snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Washington Capitals 5-0 Friday night.

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Parise raised his total to a team-high 27 goals -- including pairing with a somersaulting Dainius Zubrus for two that came 29 seconds apart -- but left the game at the 9:40 mark of the second period, when he was sandwiched between Washington forwards Matt Hendricks and Brooks Laich near the boards.

Parise stayed down for a bit while being checked, then was helped off the ice. He was on the bench in the third period, smiling while chatting with teammates, and played briefly on a power play with about six minutes left.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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