Penguins pick up crushing win

Pittsburgh entered the short Christmas break on a high after a hat-trick from Evgeni Malkin in their 8-2 demolition of Ottawa.

Malkin set the home side up with a fifth-minute opening strike and then added the sixth and eighth goals to take the Penguins joint top of the NHL league standings, alongside the New Jersey Devils.

Bill Guerin also grabbed a double in the rout.

Two goals from Nicklas Backstrom propelled the Washington Capitals to a 5-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, in a match-up of two sides having strong seasons in their respective divisions.

The Chicago Blackhawks kept the Detroit Red Wings scoreless, prevailing 3-0 with goals from Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp.

The surging Phoenix Coyotes made it eight home wins in a row by defeating the Anaheim Ducks 4-0, goals coming from Scottie Upshall, Martin Hanzal, Taylor Pyatt and Robert Lang.

The league's leading marksman Marian Gaborik netted his 26th goal of the season to wrap up the New York Rangers' 4-1 win over the Florida Panthers, with Vinny Prospal striking twice and Chris Drury netting after Victor Oreskovich had given the away team an early lead. The Rangers have now won four straight games.

The Boston Bruins edged a high-scoring game against the Atlanta Thrashers, prevailing 6-4, while the Glen Metropolit hit two goals as the Montreal Canadiens blitzed the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1.

There was more misery for the Edmonton Oilers, who crashed to a fifth successive defeat, 3-1 to the Minnesota Wild, while the Toronto Maple Leafs slumped by the same scoreline to the New York Islanders.

Two goals apiece from Blair Betts and Mike Richards led the Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, and James Neal's double secured a 3-1 victory for the Dallas Stars on home ice against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The St Louis Blues beat the Calgary Flames 2-1 following a shoot-out, with Patrik Berglund's goal cancelled out by Mark Giordano in regulation time. Brad Boyes and TJ Oshie converted for St Louis in the shoot-out.