New York Islanders 5-2 New York Rangers
The biggest matchup of the night saw the all-New York clash go the way of the Islanders in a 5-2 defeat over the Rangers. Five different players scored the goals for the hosts, who saw Simon Holmstrom pick up three points on the night to lead all scorers.
After going behind 15 minutes into the contest, the Rangers never tied the score, going down two goals before the end of the first. While Mika Zibanejad did get one goal back before intermission, the Islanders got two more two more to go up 4-1.
Taylor Raddysh's goal proved to be a mere consolation, as the three-goal lead was restored by the end of the second. The Rangers just could not find a response in what was a scoreless third to give their rivals the win. Ondrej Palat, who the Islanders traded for, got off the mark in his first game with his new team.
The Islanders are joint-eighth in the Eastern Conference, while the Rangers remain rock bottom.
Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3 Philadelphia Flyers
The Columbus Blue Jackets had to show their mettle in their clash with the Philadelphia Flyers, holding off their opponents for a 5-3 win. This is despite Travis Konecny getting a hat-trick for the away team, tying the record of number of hat-tricks league-wide in the space of a month.
Still, for all of Kocecny's good work on the night, it was not enough. Charlie Coyle got a goal and an assist to lead the Blue Jackets in points. Sean Monahan got the home side the winner with three and a half minutes left in regulation. Mathieu Olivier added an empty netter near the end to round out the scoring.
Both teams now sit six points out of a playoff spot in the East, as the gap between the top eight and rest has started to grow ever so slightly.
Ottawa Senators 5-2 Colorado Avalanche
In the Canadian capital, the Ottawa Senators got past the visiting Colorado Avalanche 5-2. There were no goals in the opening frame, but then Nick Cousins broke the deadlock three minutes and change into the second.
While Kelly Parker restored parity later on in the period, the game got away from the Western Conference-leading Avs. Ridly Greig and Claude Giroux made the score 3-1 for the Sens, putting the Avalanche in trouble for another loss.
Valeri Nichushkin reduced the deficit to one, but could not get any more headway, as Ottawa added two empty netters to compelte the win.
The Sens are still six points back of a playoff spot, though they have rattled off consecutive wins. As for Colorado, it was their third loss in their last four, though they still sit reasonably comfortably at the top of the Western Conference.