Martin St Louis ensured his 900th NHL game would be one to remember as he scored a hat-trick in Tampa Bay's 6-3 win over the Florida Panthers.
Nate Thompson, Steven Stamkos and Vincent Lecavalier were also on target for the Lightning as they upset the team that lead the Southeast Division.
The Northeast-leading Boston Bruins also lost, 2-1 in their case on home ice against the in-form Pittsburgh Penguins for whom Evgeni Malkin and Matt Cooke scored.
The Philadelphia Flyers threatened to pull off a spectacular fightback but ran out of time as they lost 6-4 to the New Jersey Devils.
The Flyers trailed 6-0 after the second period, after two goals on the powerplay from Kurtis Foster - his team's first and sixth strikes - had helped put New Jersey in control.
Wayne Simmonds, Jaromir Jagr, Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek replied in the closing period, but the effort was in vain.
Two goals from Lauri Korpikoski helped the Phoenix Coyotes to a 5-3 win against the San Jose Sharks, while Jeff Skinner hit the winner for the Carolina Hurricanes who beat the Sacramento Kings 2-1.
The Nashville Predators climbed ahead of the St Louis Blues in the Central Division by beating their rivals 3-1 at home, thanks to goals from Mike Fisher, Martin Erat and Sergei Kostitsyn
The Detroit Red Wings, top of the Central Division, came back from 3-1 down to force a shoot-out against the Edmonton Oilers but ultimately went down 5-4 at Rexall Place.
It also took a shoot-out for the Vancouver Canucks to edge the Colorado Avalanche 3-2. Mason Raymond scored the decider in the shoot-out, which Northwest leaders Vancouver earned thanks to Kevin Bieksa's last-minute goal in regulation time.
No such concerns for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who blanked the Ottawa Senators 5-0, while the Washington Capitals also had a shutout, winning 3-0 against the Montreal Canadiens.
Shootouts were required elsewhere though, with the Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Islanders 4-3, and the Dallas Stars taking down the Minnesota Wild 2-1.
