Steven Stamkos scored his NHL-leading 40th goal of the season and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Washington Capitals 2-1 on Saturday night.
The 22-year old Stamkos became the first Tampa Bay player to have three consecutive seasons of at least 40 goals when he scored 1:50 into the second period. The center stole an errant pass at the Lightning blue line and made a nifty stick-handling move during a breakaway to beat goalie Tomas Vokoun and give the Lightning a 2-0 lead.
Tom Pyatt also scored, and Mathieu Garon made 23 saves for the Lightning.
Brooks Laich had the lone goal for the Capitals, who snapped a three-game skid with a 2-1 road win over the Florida Panthers on Friday.
With a win, Washington could have tied the Panthers -- who have one game at hand -- for first place in the Southeast Division.
Stamkos had a career-high 51 goals in the 2009-10 season and scored 45 times last season. He has three goals and two assists in his last two games.
Laich cut Washington’s the deficit to 2-1 with an in-close redirection at 9:31 of the second. It was his first goal in eight games.
Pyatt put the Lightning up 1-0 on a rebound goal 2:10 into the game.
Vokoun finished with 21 saves.
PENGUINS 6, FLYERS 4 -- Dustin Jeffrey scored a go-ahead goal 37 seconds into the third period, Matt Cooke had two goals, and visiting Pittsburgh beat Philadelphia.
Jordan Staal, Pascal Dupuis and James Neal also scored goals for the Penguins, who moved into a tie with Philadelphia for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
BLACKHAWKS 6, BLUE JACKETS 1 -- Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp both had a goal and two assists, and Chicago finished a nine-game trip with a victory over host Columbus.
Patrick Kane added a goal and an assist, and Viktor Stalberg also scored. Stalberg has eight goals in five games against Columbus this season -- matching his total against the rest of the NHL in 51 games.
BLUES 4, WILD 0 -- Barret Jackman broke an NHL-high, 150-game scoreless drought, and Brian Elliott made 13 saves to lift host St. Louis past Minnesota.
The Blues won for the sixth time in seven games and gained points in a franchise-record 21st straight home game. St. Louis earned its league-best 26th home win (26-3-4).
CANUCKS 6, MAPLE LEAFS 2 -- Alex Burrows and Daniel and Henrik Sedin combined for 10 points in host Vancouver’s thrashing of Toronto.
Burrows scored two goals, Daniel Sedin had a goal and three assists, and twin brother Henrik added four assists. The Sedins’ outburst came after both had gone three games without a point.
ISLANDERS 4, HURRICANES 3 -- John Tavares took advantage of Carolina again, notching two goals and an assist in the Islanders’ victory that completed New York’s four-game season sweep of the Hurricanes.
COYOTES 2, STARS 1 -- Radim Vrbata scored his career-high 28th goal 1:15 into overtime, Mike Smith stopped 30 shots, and host Phoenix earned a point in its eighth straight game.
Vrbata scored his 10th game-winning goal of the season.
Michael Ryder scored his 22nd goal, and Lehtonen had 31 saves for Dallas, which played without leading scorer Jamie Benn.
