The New York Rangers extended their dominance in the Eastern Conference, the Vancouver Canucks kept the heat on the Detroit Red Wings out west, and the St. Louis Blues brought the New Jersey Devils' winning streak to a halt.
The Rangers got a 4-3 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning to extend their lead on the Boston Bruins for first place in the Eastern Conference. Brad Richards scored in overtime to give the Rangers the win, and Brian Boyle scored in the third period to equalize and send the game to the extra period.
Winnipeg scored two goals in the final minute of regulation to erase a two-goal deficit against the Washington Capitals, before a scoreless overtime period yielded a shootout victory for the Jets. Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler scored on their attempts, while Ondrej Pavelec made all three stops against the Caps, giving his club the 3-2 victory.
The Canucks' win came more comfortably: after giving up a goal to Dany Heatley 13 seconds in, Vancouver scored four straight goals before a late third period goal in a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild. Both Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin put in a goal, and Vancouver weathered 10-minute misconduct penalties for both Maxim Lapierre and Kevin Bieksa in the third period.
The Blues' 4-3 overtime win over the Devils in Newark ended New Jersey's five-game winning streak. St. Louis battled back from 1-0 and 3-2 deficits to get to overtime, T.J. Oshie's shootout goal won the game for the Blues, and Brian Elliott allowed no goals in more than 30 minutes of relief of Jaroslav Halak.
Elsewhere, the Dallas Stars put away the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-2, by jumping out to a 3-0 lead before almost giving it up in the second period. The defense held in the third and the Stars tacked on one final goal with one second to go to secure the win.
The Montreal Canadiens were also 4-2 winners over the New York Islanders, but the big news involved a certain someone on the score sheet. Scott Gomez finally tallied a goal, snapping a scoreless streak that lasted over a year.
Finally, the Phoenix Coyotes needed overtime to beat the Calgary Flames, 2-1. Shane Doan scored the game-winner three minutes into overtime, taking advantage of a tripping call on Mikael Backlund that put the Coyotes on the power play just a minute earlier.