Eastern Conference leaders the Montreal Canadiens eased past the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 for a third consecutive NHL win.
P.K. Subban scored and tallied two assists, while Andrei Markov netted and dished off an assist as the Canadiens stayed three points clear atop the East.
The Canadiens boast a 40-16-5 record for 85 points, three more than the New York Rangers (38-16-6), who downed the Arizona Coyotes 4-3 for their fourth win on the bounce.
Montreal's win was set up by a three-goal opening period in Columbus as Subban, Markov and Max Pacioretty ran rampant.
Markov gave the visitors a 2-1 lead less than five minutes into the first period after Manny Malhotra cancelled out Subban's opener at Nationwide Arena.
Pacioretty extended the Canadiens' advantage with just under six minutes remaining in the second for his 30th career goal.
After a scoreless second period, the Canadiens made it 4-1 via Jacob de la Rose.
Rookie Marko Dano reduced the deficit for the home team two minutes later with a rebound but the Canadiens had the final say through De La Rose 17 seconds from the end.
The Chicago Blackhawks stayed three points adrift of the St Louis Blues in the Western Conference after shutting out the Florida Panthers for a 3-0 win.
Teuvo Teravainen, Brandon Saad and Jonathan Toews were all on target as the Blackhawks dominated the Panthers in the absence of star forward Patrick Kane, who is recovering from surgery on a broken clavicle.
The Blackhawks (37-20-5) now have 79 points, three less than the Blues (39-18-4).
Alexander Steen's goal in the shoot-out gave the Blues a 2-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
Elsewhere, Jonathan Bernie made 47 saves to help the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers for back-to-back wins.
Western Conference leaders the Nashville Predators suffered a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Wild.
The Wild were inspired by Nino Niederreiter and his two goals as the Predators (41-14-7) lost for the third time five outings.
A four-goal third period lifted the Buffalo Sabres to a 6-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
Mike Hoffman's goal gave the Ottawa Senators a 1-0 victory against reigning Stanley Cup champions the Los Angeles Kings, while the Detroit Red Wings overcame the San Jose Sharks 3-2.