The Pittsburgh Penguins condemned the Washington Capitals to a fourth straight loss in the NHL, while the New York Rangers keep winning.
Chris Kunitz and Craig Adams scored as the Penguins edged the Capitals 2-1 at the Verizon Center on Thursday.
The Capitals had won 11 of their past 13 against the Penguins, but their offence continued to struggle as they suffered the loss despite left wing Jason Chimera levelling the match in the second period.
The Penguins are three points clear atop the Atlantic Division, while the Capitals sit five points adrift of Southeast Division leaders the Florida Panthers.
Meanwhile, the Rangers recorded their fourth straight win, this time a 5-3 defeat of the Carolina Hurricanes.
John Tortorella's men blocked 21 shots, including forward John Mitchell who was forced to have seven stitches above his right eye when he stopped one with his face.
The Florida Panthers could have extended their lead atop the Southeast, but they surprisingly went down 2-1 to the Los Angeles Kings.
In another shock result, the Nashville Predators battled past the Vancouver Canucks 6-5 in a high-scoring encounter.
Predators centre Mike Fisher hit a one-touch backhand past goalie Roberto Luongo after a nice Martin Erat pass to win the game with one minute 16 seconds remaining in the third period.
The Predators are fourth in the Central Division, while the Canucks stay second in the Northwest.
Elsewhere, the Dallas Stars twice came from behind to beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2.
Left wing Eric Nystrom fired in a wrist shot winner with 2:20 to play after Radek Dvorak had put the Stars on level terms.
Columbus Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash led his team to a hard-fought 4-3 shootout win over the Calgary Flames.
Nash scored the game-tying goal with 57 seconds remaining before being the only player to net in the shootout.
In other games, Bryan Little's first-period goal led the Winnipeg Jets to a 1-0 win over the Phoenix Coyotes, while the San Jose Sharks had a 4-3 shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens.