Things started off in Boston, where the Bruins topped their Original Six rivals Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3. It was a back-and-forth encounter at TD Garden, where the hosts took the lead through Pavel Zacha on a power play.
Two minutes and change later, Steve Lorentz tied things up for the Leafs despite being shorthanded. That did not last long though, as Boston went back ahead thanks to Hampus Lindstrom. The Buds had three penalties within the first eight minutes of the game. They would go on to have a total of eight in the 60 minutes.
Alex Steeves made it 3-1 for the hosts towards the end of the opening frame, before David Pastrnak added a fourth less than a minute after the restart. This is despite Leafs changing their goaltender during the intermission. That goal made it 400 for Pastrnak throughout his NHL career.
Bobby McMann reduced the deficit to two goals towards the end of the second, with Oliver Ekman-Larsson adding his side's third of the game three and a half minutes into the third. That made the last period a challenge for the Bruins as they looked to hold on.
Fortunately for them, Toronto just could not avoid going a man down. Pastrnak punished them once more, notching his second of the night to seal the win.
The Bruins are riding a seven-game winning streak, where they have gone up to fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. The Leafs, meanwhile, have lost their last three, sitting near the bottom of the conference despite scoring the joint-most goals with their Original Six rivals.
Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Kings ran rampant on their travels, beating the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 in Quebec. It was a third victory in their last four for the Kings, who are fifth in the Western Conference.
A Roope Hintz goal three minutes and four seconds into overtime completed a two-goal comeback from the Dallas Stars as they got past the Ottawa Senators 3-2.
It was a similar situation in Minnesota, where the Wild took the lead against the San Jose Sharks. However, they could not hold on, as William Smith tied things up with 8:03 left in regulation, before Collin Graf netted in overtime to give the Sharks a 2-1 win.
In a heated contest that saw 14 penalties given - seven to each team - the Washington Capitals prevailed 4-1 at the Carolina Hurricanes. Four different players scored for the Caps including Alex Ovechkin, who recently hit the 900-goal mark in his NHL career.
The St. Louis Blues staved off a late attempt at a comeback from the visiting Calgary Flames in a 3-2 win, while the Colorado Avalanche ran away with a 4-1 defeat of the Anaheim Ducks.
The Winnipeg Jets also held on for a 5-3 success over the Vancouver Canucks, while the Columbus Blue Jackets edged Seattle Kraken in a tense penalty shootout.