Ray Emery got the victory, but Martin Gerber did most of the work for the Ottawa Senators.
Gerber relieved the injured Emery and stopped 31 shots in the Senators' 6-0 rout of the Carolina Hurricanes last night in Raleigh, N.C.
Dany Heatley finished with two goals and an assist for the first-place Senators, who maintained their 4-point lead over the Bruins in the Northeast Division and the Eastern Conference.
Jason Spezza had a goal and two assists, Dean McAmmond added a goal and an assist, and Mike Fisher and Shean Donovan also scored.
The Senators had a 2-0 edge before the game was 5 1/2 minutes old, scored three first-period goals, and added three more in the third for their third straight victory.
Emery stopped the only shot he faced before leaving because of soreness in his right hip. Senators coach John Paddock said he expected Emery would be healthy enough to be Gerber's backup tonight at Pittsburgh.
Cam Ward, who supplanted Gerber as the starter two years ago during Carolina's Stanley Cup run, allowed goals on two of the first four shots he faced and finished with 20 saves for the Southeast Division-leading Hurricanes.
Capitals 5, Rangers 4 - With Alex Ovechkin on one team and Jaromir Jagr on the other, no one expected Mike Green and Joe Motzko to steal the show.
Green scored 3:41 into overtime after posting two assists in regulation, and Motzko had his first two goals of the season as host Washington beat New York.
Green's eighth goal - second on Washington to Ovechkin's 22 - was set up when New York's Brendan Shanahan stumbled and fell to the ice in the Capitals zone, allowing Brooks Laich to steal the puck and begin an odd-man rush. Laich passed to Green, and the defenseman put the puck past goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
Blackhawks 6, Kings 3 - Martin Havlat scored twice, and Patrick Sharp and rookie Jonathan Toews each had a goal and two assists to help host Chicago end a season-high, four-game losing streak.
Former UMass-Amherst goalie Jonathan Quick replaced Jean-Sebastien Aubin in the first period after the starter allowed three goals on nine shots. Quick permitted three on 26 shots.
Sabres 5, Islanders 3 - Ales Kotalik had a goal and assist, Ryan Miller made 28 saves, and host Buffalo scored three goals in the second period en route to beating the Islanders for the first time in three meetings this season.
Blue Jackets 4, Avalanche 1 - Fredrik Norrena stopped 15 shots as host Columbus beat Colorado for the second time in a week.
