Francis' 500th goal? Wasted in a 6-3 loss. The night Francis passed Ray Bourque for second place with his 1,170th assist? A loss. The night Francis recorded his 1,000th point with the franchise? A loss.

At least the first Ron Francis Night was a tie in January 2002.

Saturday, on the night Francis' jersey rose to the RBC Center rafters, the Canes finally won one for him, picking apart the Atlanta Thrashers for a 4-1 victory.

"I don't think we ever won on a Ron Francis night or on any of his milestones," Carolina forward Erik Cole said. "It was important for us to get a win, not just for Ron but for the organization. It's a night that really means so much to our history."

It was a chippy, nasty game that picked up where Thursday's 5-1 win over the Thrashers left off, with 17 total power plays and 42 minutes in minor penalties.

Justin Williams and Cole scored in the first period to give the Canes an early lead, and Anton Babchuk scored his first in a Carolina uniform in the second to make it a three-goal advantage.

Riddled with injuries, the Canes have won five in a row overall, a franchise-record nine straight at home and 13 of their past 14.

The Thrashers approached this home-and-home like a playoff series and still fell 24 points back.

"We knew this would be a tough two games," Carolina defenseman Bret Hedican said. "They're going to be on our heels for the remainder here and we knew these games would be important for us."

They wore jerseys with Francis' name embroidered on the right chest and his number on the left sleeve and dressed with Francis and his two sons in the locker room.

The Canes ended up winning one for Ronnie, for once, but it was their own future they were thinking about.

"It was really special for the guys who played with him," Cole said. "Then we turned the page and Rod [Brind'Amour's] line gave us a great first shift."