Jaden Schwartz notched a hat-trick for the St Louis Blues on Friday as they edged ahead in the tight race for the NHL's Central division title.
The Blues scored three unanswered goals in the third period, including one to Schwartz with 22 seconds left, to defeat the Dallas Stars 7-5 and move into first position in the Central standings.
The victory took St Louis to 103 points, ahead of the second-placed Nashville Predators due to their number of wins, while the Chicago Blackhawks, who are third, trumped the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 to reach 102 points with their fourth straight win.
After Schwartz's first goal of the game in Dallas, the Blues led 3-1 in the second period but the home side scored four in a row to take control at the American Airlines Center.
Schwartz arrested the Stars' momentum late in the second stanza before the visitors surged, with Zbynek Michalek, Alex Pietrangelo joining the Blues' 22-year-old star winger on the scoresheet in the final period.
Each of the Central's top three teams have four games left in the NHL's regular season, which should ensure the battle for the divisional championship continues over the next week.
Chicago ensured they remain genuine contenders with a win at Buffalo, as they struck twice in the last two minutes to prevail against the Sabres.
The Blackhawks struck twice in the first stanza but led 2-1 with a period to play after Marcus Foligno scored in the middle term for the hosts.
Johan Larsson and Foligno then put the Sabres in front in the third period but a brace to Jonathan Toews saved Chicago on the road.
Elsewhere in the Western Conference, Pacific division champions the Anaheim Ducks lost 4-2 to Central's bottom side - the Colorado Avalanche, while the San Jose Sharks defeated the Arizona Coyotes 3-1.
In the Eastern Conference, Atlantic division leaders the Montreal Canadiens suffered a third straight loss, going down 3-2 to the New Jersey Devils.