The Colorado Avalanche halted a two-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL.

Colorado looked to be cruising at the end of the second period with a 5-2 advantage but scores for Jeff Carter and Danny Briere gave the Flyers a glimmer of hope, although it proved too little too late

David Jones scored two goals for the Avalanche with Paul Stastny, Cody Mcleod and Scott Hannan also on target.

The Ottawa Senators secured their fourth straight victory with a 4-3 overtime win against Eastern Conference leaders the Washington Capitals.

Mike Fisher grabbed the decisive goal with Chris Neil, Peter Regin and Alexandre Picard also on the scoresheet for Ottawa, who had been trailing 3-1 at the end of the second period.

The Pittsburgh Penguins overcame the Florida Panthers 3-2 thanks to Sidney Crosby's goal in overtime.

Marian Gaborik was the hero for the New York Rangers with two goals and two assists in the 7-4 triumph over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Martin Erat netted twice as the Nashville Predators posted their sixth successive win with a 3-1 result over the Detroit Red Wings.

The New York Islanders needed overtime to see off the Toronto Maple Leafs, with Josh Bailey scoring in the extra period to snatch a 4-3 victory, while Teemu Selanne scored the only shootout goal as the Anaheim Ducks sneaked past the Calgary Flames 3-2.

Goals in the first period for Ethan Moreau, Sheldon Souray and Ales Hemsky helped the Edmonton Oilers on their way to a 4-0 success over the Phoenix Coyotes.

In other games, the Boston Bruins were 4-2 winners over the St Louis Blues and the Dallas Stars beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0.