RALEIGH -- The Carolina Hurricanes found themselves in a slightly strange place Thursday -- at home.

After playing six straight games on the road, spending 12 days away from Raleigh, the Canes returned to top the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 at PNC Arena.

The Canes, 4-1-1 on the road swing, were intent on giving a sellout crowd a good show on home ice. But Carolina played without injured defensemen Joni Pitkanen and Tim Gleason, and was facing a Leafs team that had won four straight and had a 6-1 road record.

The Canes likely will be without defensemen Joni Pitkanen and Tim Gleason tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs and have called up Michal Jordan from the Charlotte Checkers (AHL).

Pitkanen and Gleason both missed the morning skate at PNC Arena with lower-body injuries. Pitkanen definitely will not play tonight -- his status remains "day to day" -- and Canes coach Kirk Muller said Gleason was questionable for the game while not completely ruling him out.

"Jordan will be a safety valve if he can't go," Muller said.

Jiri Tlusty scored another two goals.

Cam Ward had another sharp game in net.

Eric Staal extended his point streak to 10 games, and the Canes again came up with a strong 60-minute -- or this night, even longer -- effort to close a successful six-game road trip with a 4-2 win Tuesday over the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark.

The Hurricanes (7-4-1) were 4-1-1 on what will be their longest road swing of the condensed NHL season. That's nine of a possible 12 points, maintaining Carolina's lead atop the Southeast Division. And it ended with a win over a Devils team that had won five straight games and lead the Eastern Conference.

"It's been a great road trip for us and we knew this would be the toughest challenge, as well as New Jersey is playing," Canes coach Kirk Muller said. "We thought it would be a good measuring stick for us.

The Carolina Hurricanes engaged in a run-and-gun game Monday with the New York Islanders, overcoming poor penalty killing to secure a 6-4 road victory at Nassau Coliseum.

The Canes, 3-1-1 on their road trip, trailed 3-2 entering the final period. But the Isles were overwhelmed by the playmaking and skill of Carolina's top line of Eric Staal, Alex Semin and Jiri Tlusty -- who combined for four goals and nine points in the third -- and the Canes (6-4-1) did manage to kill off a penalty late in regulation to preserve the lead.

"We find a way to (get) the points, which is a big key for our team and we have to keep it rolling," Tlusty said. "Our third period has been really strong. We came out really hard tonight (in the third) and wore the D down. That was the plan."

For the second time in eight days and umpteenth time in the past decade, the Carolina Hurricanes left Philadelphia wondering what went wrong. At least this time, they got a point out of it.

Daniel Briere’s overtime goal secured a 4-3 win for the Flyers after Joe Corvo scored midway through the third period to earn a point for the Hurricanes in the fourth game of this critical six-game road trip. Up next: the New York Islanders on Monday and the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.

Cam Ward says he's relaxed and having fun in net again, which is always a good thing for the Canes.

Following up a strong 41-save victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ward was ultra-sharp again Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators, making 45 saves in a 3-2 overtime victory at Scotiabank Place.

The Canes had their troubles on the road and in overtime last season. But Jay Harrison's goal at 2:19 of overtime gave Carolina (5-4) its third road win in its first nine games and a victory in its first OT game.

"We hung in there and found a way to get it done," Canes coach Kirk Muller said.

The first period belonged to Cam Ward.

The second period belonged to the Staal brothers.

The third period began with a power-play goal by Justin Faulk and ended with Ward making one final save. It also ended with the Canes 4-1 winners over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday at the Air Canada Centre.

With Ward making 41 saves, making for a miserable night for Phil Kessel and the Leafs, the Canes evened their record at 4-4. Pat Dwyer had a goal and Jeff Skinner added three assists for Carolina, which fell behind 1-0 in the first period when the Leafs outskated and outshot the Canes.

"Cam was great tonight," Canes coach Kirk Muller said. "He made huge saves and kept us in the game. He got challenged earlier and had fire in his belly. He wanted to prove something to me and it's great, because he's an elite player and goaltender."

The Canes on Sunday recalled forward Tim Wallace from the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL) while reassigning forward Zac Dalpe to Charlotte.

Wallace, 28, has notched nine goals and earned 11 assists in 43 games this season with Charlotte. He has scored three goals and earned eight assists in 73 career NHL regular-season games with Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and the New York Islanders.

Wallace is in his seventh professional season and his first season with Carolina after signing with the Hurricanes as a free agent in July 2012.

The Carolina Hurricanes won't play another home game until the middle of February, going on the road for the next six games.

But the Canes left town off a rock-solid victory. With Dan Ellis making 33 saves in goal, the Canes topped the Ottawa Senators 1-0 at PNC Arena.

The Sens (5-2-1) came into the game leading the NHL's Eastern Conference, and with goalie Craig Anderson being named the NHL's first star for the month of January. But Ellis bettered Anderson this night, notching his second win of the season, his 13th career shutout and making Eric Staal's first-period goal stand up.

The Canes (3-3) open their road swing Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Cam Ward was expected to start in goal for Carolina, although Canes coach Kirk Muller may opt to stick with the hot hand and go with Ellis again.

"He looks very confident," Muller said of Ellis. "He's had a lot of games this year to prepare and it's an opportunity for him. Like any athlete in pro sports, when you get the opportunity you have to take advantage of it."

The Canes will have Dan Ellis in goal and defenseman Justin Faulk back in the lineup tonight for the game with the Ottawa Senators at PNC Arena.

Ellis, who played well for the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) during the NHL lockout, will be making his second start and third appearance of the season. He stopped 40 of 41 shots in a 3-1 road victory over the Buffalo Sabres last week in his first start.

"It's a different season and he's got the 30-plus games under his belt," Canes coach Kirk Muller said. "He's played well when he's been in. I thought he should be given the opportunity to play a game at home."