Former Rangers forward Blair Betts scored 54 seconds into his return to the Garden, and Danny Briere and Claude Giroux took advantage of New York turnovers to push the Flyers’ lead to 3-0 in the first period.

Things went as well in the Philadelphia end as goalie Michael Leighton could have hoped. Leighton, claimed by off waivers from Carolina Dec. 15, made his fourth straight start and has won them all. Philadelphia is 4-0 on its six-game trip that will continue tomorrow in the Winter Classic at Fenway Park.

Sharks 5, Capitals 2 - Host San Jose became the first team in more than 27 years to score on two penalty shots in a game and went on to beat Washington for its sixth straight win.

Joe Thornton and Ryane Clowe scored on penalty shots, making San Jose the first team since Vancouver on Feb. 11, 1982, at Detroit to score twice on penalty shots.

The highly anticipated matchup between first-place teams from opposite conferences featured four of the top 10 scorers this season and three of top six goal-scorers. But it proved to be a mismatch on the ice.

The Sharks overwhelmed Washington in the first period and took control with a pair of goals in a 75-second span, and received stellar goaltending from Evgeni Nabokov to hold off the Capitals.

Devils 2, Penguins 0 - Martin Brodeur made 32 saves for his second straight shutout against Pittsburgh and his 105th overall, leading host New Jersey.

Brodeur broke a tie with Terry Sawchuk for the NHL shutout record in his previous start against the Penguins, a 4-0 victory in Pittsburgh Dec. 21.

Canadiens 2, Lightning 1 - Tomas Plekanec scored at 3:32 of overtime to give Montreal the victory in Tampa.

Plekanec beat Mike Smith on a two-on-one after a Tampa Bay turnover for his ninth goal.

Oilers 3, Maple Leafs 1 - Patrick O’Sullivan scored two power-play goals and Jeff Deslauriers made 27 saves to help Edmonton snap a seven-game losing with a win over visiting Toronto.

The game was Oilers coach Pat Quinn’s first against Toronto since he was fired by the Maple Leafs following the 2005-06 season.

Flames 2, Kings 1 - Miikka Kiprusoff made 23 saves for his 20th victory and Craig Conroy broke a second-period tie with his first goal of the season in host Calgary’s win over Los Angeles.

Avalanche 4, Senators 3 - Ryan O’Reilly scored the winning goal early in the third period and Craig Anderson stopped 27 shots in Colorado’s win at Ottawa.