Capitals prevail in shoot-out, Panthers stumble

The Washington Capitals needed a penalty shoot-out to claim a second consecutive win and see off the New Jersey Devils, as they remain the team with the most points in the NHL.

T.J. Oshie and Alexander Ovechkin kept their cool to seal the win for the Capitals in the shoot-out after Paul Carey's first goal of the season forced the game into overtime.

The Devils hit the lead midway through the third period after falling behind to a second-period goal from Andre Burakovsky, courtesy of hits from Josep Blandisi and Adam Henrique.

The win keeps the Capitals atop the Eastern division with 78 points, the highest tally in the league, despite playing an equal lowest 50 games.

The Florida Panthers could not keep up their winning form as they went down to the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2.

Kris Letang scored his second goal of the game in OT, after kicking off the Penguins remarkable comeback having found themselves 2-0 down late in the third period.

Goals from the Panthers' Jussi Jokinen and Aleksander Barkov had the Panthers up by two, only for Letang and Sidney Crosby to force OT, where Letang put the Panthers to the sword.

The Chicago Blackhawks won their third-straight game at the expense of the Dallas Stars in an impressive 5-1 victory, in which Patrick Kane scored his 32nd goal of the season, snapping the Stars' three-game winning streak in the process.

The Montreal Canadiens boasted five different scorers in their 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers, while the New York Rangers prevailed 3-2 against the Philadelphia Flyers following a shoot-out.

The Ottawa Senators responded after conceding 13 goals in two games in the best way possible as they smashed six past the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 6-1 win, while the Nashville Predators overturned some bad form of their own to score a 6-2 win over the San Jose Sharks, thanks in part to a Viktor Arvidsson double.

The Detroit Red Wings got among the goals themselves in a 5-1 victory over the New York Islanders, as the Boston Bruins defeated the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in OT.

Elsewhere, the St. Louis Blues accounted for the Minnesota Wild 4-1, the Calgary Flames beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-1, while two Drew Stafford goals helped the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche.