Daniel Alfredsson scored three goals and added four assists in a record-breaking performance to propel the Ottawa Senators to an 8-4 rout over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Alfredsson scored twice in the first period before capping his hat-trick with a second-period score. He had assists in each period, two coming in the third, to record a team-best seven points. The second assist was his 500th.

"It was one of those nights when you shoot the puck and it goes where you want it to," Alfredsson, who took the NHL scoring lead with 67 points, said.

"We wanted to have a good effort, and it was a big win for us," he added. "We felt our play was not up to the level we wanted it to be, and it's important after the (All-Star) break that we elevate our level of play."

The Swede has 32 goals this season, topping the 30-goal mark for the fourth time in his 12-year career.

"People talk about (Vincent) Lecavalier and (Sidney) Crosby ... but (Alfredsson) has been as good as any player in the league, from the last half of last year through the playoffs and this year," Senators coach John Paddock said.

Jason Spezza added two goals and an assist for the Senators, who had lost five of their previous six games. Dan Boyle scored twice for the Lightning, who had won their last three.

Ottawa's Martin Gerber gained the win, stopping 21 shots.

Radim Vrbata scored three goals and assisted on Zbynek Michalek's overtime winner to give the Phoenix Coyotes a 4-3 home victory over the Nashville Predators. Michalek scored with 29 seconds left in overtime.

Chris Higgins powerplay goal capped a three-goal third period for the Montreal Canadiens, who beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on the road.

Jarret Stoll scored two goals in the final 1:23 of regulation and Shawn Horcoff had the only shootout goal in the Edmonton Oilers's 4-3 road win over the Florida Panthers.

Brendan Shanahan's shootout goal lifted the New York Rangers to a 2-1 home win over the Atlanta Thrashers.

Viktor Kozlov's tie-breaking third-period goal led the Washington Capitals to a 2-1 home win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, their fifth victory in six games.

Mike Knuble's third-period goal powered the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-3 home win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Marc Savard and Dennis Wideman both had a goal and an assist in the Boston Bruins' 4-1 home win over the New York Islanders.

Pascal Leclaire's league-leading eighth shutout of the season led the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 1-0 road win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

The games were the last for NHL clubs before Sunday's All-Star game in Atlanta.

Reuters