NHL - Recap of Wednesday's Games

Six games were scheduled today , four of them were won by the hosts and in the remaining two the guests came away with the victory.

As an indication for the balance present in the league two of the games tonight were decided after shootouts.

The Washington Capitals edged out the Islanders 5-4 with Chris Clark scoring the deciding goal in the 11th round of the shootout. Alexander Semin and backup goalie Semyon Varlamov were the stars of the night , as they helped the Capitals erase a 3-1 deficit en route to their third win in a row this season.

The other game that went the distance was the duel between the Chicago Blackhawks and the visiting Colorado Avs. There was no surprise that this game ended tight after regulation because this was the third straight time a tiebreaker had to decide the outcome between this two teams.

Patrick Sharp was the hero for the home fans , as his goal in the third round of the shootout gave the Blackhawks a much needed win.

The only onesided matchup of the night was at Columbus , as the Detroit Red Wings stunned the home crowd at Nationwide Arena, routing the Blue Jackets 9-1.

At the same time it was a milestone to forget for the home team coach , as Ken Hitchcock's 1,000th game as an NHL coach was only brightened by Rick Nash's lone goal that came in the second period. The guests outshot the Jackets 39-26 as defenseman Niklas Kronwall and center Pavel Datsyuk led Detroit to a very convincing away success.

Meanwhile the Anaheim Ducks couldn't extend their winning streak as the New Jersey Devils defeated them 3-1 for their sixth consecutive victory.

Left winger Zach Parise was the most influential player on ice as his performance combined with stellar penalty-killing and a 31-save outing by Martin Brodeur gave the home fans at Prudential Center alot of reasons to cheer about .

Elsewhere the Sabres ended their recent slump with a 3-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

Buffallo's goaltender Ryan Miller had an outstanding performance as his 28 saves snapped a two game skid and gave his team two valuable points that enabled them to stay on top of the Northeast division.

In another matchup the Carolina Hurricanes couldn't snap their cold streak as the LA Kings sent them home with a 5-2 loss. This was the seventh consecutive defeat for the Hurricanes who currently posess the worst record in the NHL.

Carolina's Tuomo Ruutu had two goals for his team but his efforts were overshadowed by Randy Jones , who made his debut with the Kings a memorable one , as his first appearance for his new club was crowned by a goal and an assist that gave him the first star selection.