Blackhawks 3, Bruins 2

Ben Smith assisted on the Blackhawks' first goal and scored their second to lead Chicago to its eighth consecutive victory, beating Boston on Thursday night.

The Blackhawks lost captain and No. 2 scorer Jonathan Toews in the second period when Dennis Seidenberg hit him from behind and sent him face-first into the boards. No further information about the injury was available.

Scott Darling made 32 saves for the Blackhawks, who have won 11 of their last 12 games and lost just twice in the past month.

Tuukka Rask stopped 18 shots for Boston. The Bruins have lost four of their last five games and six out of eight.

The Bruins were boosted by the return of captain Zdeno Chara, who missed seven weeks with a torn ligament in his left knee. But they couldn't take advantage of the 6-foot-9 defenseman's presence.

Klas Dahlbeck and Patrick Kane also scored for Chicago, and Marcus Kruger had a pair of assists as the Blackhawks opened a 3-0 lead midway through the second period. Chicago then had a lengthy power play - including almost two minutes of a 5-on-3 - thanks to three penalties in a row against Boston.

The Bruins killed it off, and near the end of the period Reilly Smith scored for Boston to make it 3-1. It stayed that way until there were eight minutes left, when Milan Lucic bulled his way through two defenders, taking them both with him behind the net before passing it back to Torey Krug for the goal.

The play ended with several players pairing up and fighting, with the longest-lasting Boston's Chris Kelly against Andrew Shaw.

Blues 6, Islanders 3

Alexander Steen scored two goals, and Jake Allen made 25 saves in St. Louis' win against the suddenly slumping New York Islanders.

Steen's goal at 4:34 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie. T.J. Oshie started the play by ripping a shot down the right side. The rebound off goalie Jaroslav Halak's pad went to Steen, who scored his seventh of the season.

Oshie and Paul Stastny added insurance goals at 15:47 and 17:48.

Kyle Okposo scored his sixth goal for New York at 18:16, before Jaden Schwartz ended any hopes of a comeback with an empty-net goal at 18:56.

After surrendering just four goals during a three game winning streak, the Islanders have given up 17 during their skid - including six twice to the Blues.

Flyers 4, Devils 1

Matt Read and Sean Couturier each had a goal and an assist to lead Philadelphia to a win over New Jersey.

Wayne Simmonds added a power-play goal for the Flyers, and Jakub Voracek scored an empty-netter late in the third period to seal the win.

Martin Havlat scored for the Devils.

The Flyers opened a four-game homestand with a needed win after dropping four of five on the road. Three of the four losses were by one goal.

The Flyers have dropped to the bottom portion of the Eastern Conference and need to make the most of their upcoming home games to jump back into the playoff race.