The Central Division-leading Chicago Blackhawks used a five-goal second period to crush the Calgary Flames 7-1.

It was a fifth straight victory for Chicago, for whom Kris Versteeg scored two power-play goals, with Troy Brouwer and Patrick Kane also making the most of a man advantage.

The other Chicago goals came from Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd and Ben Eager, while Olli Jokinen was on target for the Flames.

Mike Santorelli and Martin Erat got shootout goals as the Nashville Predators beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2.

Chris Phillips marked his 800th regular-season game with two goals as the Ottawa Senators beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-2.

Milan Michalek also reached a landmark with his 100th career goal, while Mike Fisher registered three assists.

The Atlanta Thrashers' four-game winning streak came to an end as they lost 4-3 to the Boston Bruins courtesy of Patrice Bergeron's shootout goal.

Michael Ryder scored two for the Bruins, who had lost three straight before this win.

The Columbus Blue Jackets won a stormy clash with the Dallas Stars 4-1 to earn their third successive victory.

Rick Nash and Kristian Huselius scored in a first period which saw four fights and a total of 57 penalty minutes, before Huselius and Raffi Torres added another pair in the second.

The Anaheim Ducks threw away a three-goal lead but it did not prove costly as Scott Niedermayer scored in overtime to give them a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The St Louis Blues beat the Phoenix Coyotes 3-2 on Erik Johnson's goal 17 seconds into overtime, while the Carolina Hurricanes overcame a three-goal deficit to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5, with Tuomo Ruutu and Jussi Jokinen notching shootout goals in a clash of the two worst teams in the NHL.