The Boston Bruins put the Detroit's play-offs party on hold after thumping the Red Wings 5-2 in a dominant performance.

The Red Wings were on a high heading into Thursday's match after knocking off fellow play-offs contenders the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, but their physical exertions left them depleted for the trip to Boston.

And the Bruins made them pay almost instantly when David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand had the Bruins 2-0 up after just three minutes.

Poor starts were a theme for the Red Wings all game, conceding again just five minutes into the second period and then twice in the opening 45 seconds of the third.

Alexey Marchenko and Andreas Athanasiou scored the consolations for Red Wings who hold onto third place in the Atlantic Division courtesy of their superior head-to-head record against the Bruins.

The Flyers failed to take advantage of the loss as they went down 4-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, courtesy of Jake Gardiner's decider two minutes, 51 seconds into overtime.

The point they gained was not enough to keep them in the wildcard positions in the Eastern conference, as the Bruins moved one ahead of them on 93 points.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Kings moved top of the Pacific Division after beating the Anaheim Ducks 2-1.

A two-goal second period clinched the win for the Kings, who are now two points clear of the Ducks at the top of the division.

The Pittsburgh Penguins tied up second spot in the Metropolitan Division with a 4-3 win in overtime thanks to Sidney Crosby's winner against President's Cup winners the Washington Capitals.

Crosby's goal ensures the Penguins have home-ice advantage for the first round of the play-offs.

"We've worked hard to get to that point, and I think that we've just got to keep in mind what got us here and make sure we continue to play the same way," Crosby said.

The St. Louis Blues remain a chance of winning the Central Division after beating the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 in OT, while the New York Islanders completed their first regular-season sweep with a 4-1 win over local rivals the New York Rangers.

The Dallas Stars are the other team with a chance of taking out the Central Division, after Jason Dickinson scored on his NHL debut during their 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche, as the Calgary Flames saw off the Vancouver Canucks 7-2 and the Ottawa Senators shocked the Florida Panthers 3-1.

Elsewhere, the Nashville Predators beat the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 in OT, the Montreal Canadiens enjoyed a 4-2 triumph over the Carolina Hurricanes, the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2 and the Winnipeg Jets beat the San Jose Sharks 5-4.