The Ottawa Senators made a flying start to record a 6-0 thrashing of the New York Islanders on Monday (local time), while Carolina were also big winners.
There were doubts over the Senators' match sharpness following a rare break of four days between fixtures, but they dispelled those concerns with two goals in the first two minutes at the Nassau Coliseum.
Wrist shots from Erik Karlsson and Jason Spezza handed the visitors a commanding early lead, and when Karlsson netted his second with a snap-shot on 15 minutes, the match was effectively over as a contest.
Chris Phillips' power-play goal midway through the second period made it 4-0 to Ottawa.
And Karlsson, the NHL's highest-scoring defenseman, also showed he can act as provider, laying on two assists as the Senators raced away in the final term.
Slap shots from Brian Lee and Spezza blew the lead out to 6-0, as goaltender Craig Anderson registered his third shutout of the campaign.
The Senators, seventh in the Eastern Conference standings, are now six points clear of eighth-placed Toronto.
In the other match on Monday, the Carolina Hurricanes saw off the visit of the Washington Capitals with an emphatic 5-0 win.
Justin Faulk opened the scoring with a power-play goal inside four minutes, and Anthony Stewart's wrist-shot made it 2-0 less than two minutes later.
Andreas Nodl's snap-shot extended the lead to 3-0 by the first break.
Two goals from Eric Staal, in the second and third period respectively, capped off the rout, while Carolina goaltender Justin Peters managed the first shutout of his career.