The Chicago Blackhawks maintained their impressive form in the NHL with a 7-2 demolition of the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday.

Marian Hossa fired two goals with Patrick Sharp, Troy Brouwer and John Madden among the other scorers for Chicago, who claimed their eighth win in a row.

Sidney Crosby was among the scorers as the Pittsburgh Penguins eased past the Montreal Canadiens 3-1.

Bill Guerin and Sergei Gonchar added the other goals as Pittsburgh stretched their winning streak to three games.

Niclas Bergfors, Patrik Elias and Jamie Langenbrunner provided the goals for the New Jersey Devils in their 3-1 success over the Ottawa Senators.

Nashville posted their seventh successive victory with David Legwand's overtime goal edging the Predators past the Colorado Avalanche 4-3.

Semyon Varlamov enjoyed his first shutout of the season as the Washington Capitals saw off the Buffalo Sabres 2-0. Alex Ovechkin and Eric Fehr scored the goals.

Scott Hartnell's goal in the third period proved decisive as the Philadelphia Flyers edged past the New York Islanders 2-1.

Teemu Selanne had a goal and an assist for the Anaheim Ducks in their 3-2 success over the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Boston Bruins made it four victories in a row with David Krejci scoring their shootout winner in the 2-1 result against the Minnesota Wild.

The Phoenix Coyotes were beaten 2-1 by the Calgary Flames, who scored through Daymond Langkow and Nigel Dawes.

In other games, the St Louis Blues beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 and the Atlanta Thrashers shut out the Detroit Red Wings 2-0.

The Los Angeles Kings eased past the Edmonton Oilers 3-1, the Florida Panthers were edged out 2-1 by the New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs were 4-3 winners over the Tampa Bay Lightning.