NHL Scores & More: That Blues Vs. Red Wings Rivalry Is Officially Back

The Detroit Red Wings are no average Joes, especially at the Joe.

Detroit won its 17th straight home game Tuesday in a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues in a pivotal Central Division matchup.

The Blues struck first, but the Red Wings scored three unanswered goals to seal the victory, which gave them a NHL-leading 67 points. The 17-game win streak at home is the fourth-longest in league history and longest single-season streak in 36 years. Detroit has also won seven consecutive games overall.

The Red Wings have not lost at home since November 3 and are one win shy of tying their win total at Joe Louis Arena from last season. They are also three wins away from tying the NHL record for consecutive home wins, set by the 1929-30 Boston Bruins and 1976 Philadelphia Flyers.

Detroit now embarks on a five-game road trip, where it has won three of four. The Red Wings are flying high.

Matthew Lombardi scored two goals and Jonas Gustavsson stopped all 25 shots he faced as the Toronto Maple Leafs blanked the New York Islanders by a 3-0 score Monday night at Air Canada Centre.

With just its second victory in their last six contests, Toronto tied the eighth-place Washington Capitals with 43 points, but still remain on the outside looking in regarding the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The loss snapped a three-game Islanders winning streak, and leaves New York just a point ahead of the Buffalo Sabres, who sit in the 15th spot in the East.

The Leafs wasted little time in jumping out to a lead in the opening period. Defenseman Jake Gardiner carried the puck through center ice and into the New York zone along the left wing side, then dropped a pass back to Lombardi at the left point. The center moved to the top of the left faceoff circle and launched a slap shot in on Islanders' netminder Evgeni Nabokov. The puck bounced off several bodies in front of the net before defenseman Mark Streit accidentally tapped the puck into his own net. Lombardi got credit for his fifth goal of the season and Toronto took a 1-0 lead just 1:37 into the first period.

Both goaltenders played well, but it was Nabokov who kept his team in the game. The Maple Leafs outshot the Isles by a 24-11 count through the first two periods -- including 16-5 in the first frame alone -- and the score remained 1-0 well into the third period.

As the final stanza approached the midway point, Toronto's top two scorers combined to double the home team's lead. Winger Joffrey Lupul carried the puck along the right wing side and sent a pass from the right hash marks across the crease. The puck bounced off Nabokov's pad and right onto the stick of Leafs' leading goal scorer Phil Kessel, who promptly snapped a shot past the New York goalie on the short side and into the net. It was Kessel's 26th goal of the year, tying him with the Pittsburgh Penguins duo of Evgeni Malkin and James Neal, and increased Toronto's margin to 2-0 at 8:10 of the third.

The Maple Leafs outhustled the Islanders to get another bit of insurance late in regulation. Mikhail Grabovski's dash to beat Milan Jurcina to the puck caused Nabokov to come out of the net and sent a poke check to the left wing corner. Joey Crabb provided excellent puck support and gathered the disc, then sent a cross-ice pass to Lombardi, who was streaking in along the right wing side. Lombardi beat Nabokov to put the final nail in the Isles coffin with his second goal of the game and sixth of the season with just 3:39 left on the third period clock.

Gustavsson shut the door the rest of the way, as New York pressed with its toughest offensive push during the third frame, outshooting the Leafs, 14-11. It was the third shutout of the year for "The Monster" as he ran his record to 15-10-0. Nabokov made 32 saves, but dropped to 10-12-0.

The shutout brought Islanders' star John Tavares' 12-game point streak to an end, a stretch which saw the first overall selection in the 2009 entry draft score eight goals and register 21 points.

As the All-Star Break approaches, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators were in the unusual position of wrapping up their divisional series in January, with the final matchup of the season taking place in Bridgestone Arena.

With the Blue Jackets suffering a litany of injuries that has almost $19 million dollars in payroll on the IR, the team had some good news in the return of R.J. Umberger, who had missed five games after suffering a concussion, while the Predators welcomed back Ryan Suter, though his place on the sick list was taken by Francis Bouillon.

From the start, the home club was on the attack, dominating the depleted Columbus defense and forcing Steve Mason to make a dozen saves in the first period, while the visitors mustered only three shots in 20 minutes. Taking advantage of a Columbus turnover inside their own zone, Martin Erat intercepted a pass from Antoine Vermette, kicked the puck to Mike Fisher, and Mr. Carrie Underwood brought the fans out of their seats with top corner wrist shot.

The Jackets managed to reach the first intermission, and interim head coach Todd Richards appeared to rally his troops. A much more engaged team challenged back in the second period, and their captain brought the game even when Rick Nash stole the puck from Shea Weber and drove to the net, beating Pekka Rinne even as he was hauled down by Weber from behind.

The Columbus captain was one of the few Blue Jackets who came to play, racking up a team high five shots, but his efforts were frustrated by a team wide inability to convert on the power play, and a penalty kill that would give up a go-ahead goal in the final 29 seconds of the period when Mike Fisher cleaned up the rebound of a Weber slap shot for his second of the night.

Despite the Jackets managing to close the shot gap to 24-19 after a furious second period, the third period belonged to the Predators just as much as the first. Managing their lead and preventing the Blue Jackets from effectively challenging Rinne around the net, they extended their lead to 3-1 on a strong individual effort by Matt Halischuk to snag a bouncing puck in the high slot and score on a spin-a-rama.

With Derek Dorsett in the penalty box for a trip on Ryan Ellis, the Predators finished nailing the coffin lid shut with a goal that initially appeared to be a clean point shot by Suter but was later determined to be tipped in front of the net by Patrick Hornqvist.

Both teams will play again Tuesday, with the Predators traveling to Chicago and the Blue Jackets heading south to Tampa Bay, before the clubs disperse for the All-Star Game break.