The Philadelphia Flyers scored three second period goals to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 on Saturday night.
Philadelphia register seventh win in eight games
The Philadelphia Flyers used three second period goals to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 and hold on to their lead at the top of the Atlantic Division.
Goals from Danny Briere, Jaromir Jagr and Wayne Simmons set up a seventh win in eight games for the Flyers, who hold on to top spot by a point from the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-3 winners over the New York Islanders in Uniondale.
The Penguins headed to New York after back-to-back defeats but two goals from James Neal powered them to victory as star Sidney Crosby remains sidelined with injury.
The New York Rangers, also very much in the fight as they sit three points behind Philadelphia having played two games less, recorded a landmark 2,500th franchise victory by beating the Buffalo Sabres 4-1.
Carl Hagelin had a pair of goals in the win.
Northeast Division leaders Boston got back to winning way as they came from behind to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 in Ohio.
Outstanding
Joe Corve had two goals and Milan Lucic got an assist on each of the three goals in the win.
The NHL-leading Minnesota Wild beat the Phoenix Coyotes thanks to two goals from Kyle Brodziak and an outstanding display from Niklas Backstrom who made 35 saves on his return from a three-game absence.
However, San Jose missed the chance to close the gap on the Coyotes at the top of the Pacific Division as they went down 1-0 to the St Louis Blues, with Kevin Shattenkirk getting the only goal.
The Edmonton Oilers lost defenseman Andy Sutton to an eight-game suspension and then lost to their biggest rivals, going down 3-0 to Calgary in the Battle of Alberta as Flames captain Jarome Iginla scored twice.
The Detroit Red Wings recorded a ninth straight home victory as they beat the Winnipeg Jets 7-1 thanks to two goals from Jiri Hudler and a goal and an assist from each of Valtteri Filppula, Todd Bertuzzi and Henrik Zetterberg.
Tomas Kaberle had two assists on his debut for the Montreal Canadiens as they topped the New Jersey Devils 2-1. Kaberle arrived in a trade from Carolina on Friday.
Ryan Kesler scored twice to help the Vancouver Canucks beat the Washington Senators 4-1, while a goal and an assist from Jordin Tootoo powered the Nashville Predators in a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks, and the Dallas Stars topped the Los Angeles Kings 2-1.
