With the Highlanders having the bye over Easter, the Crusaders and Chiefs both claimed wins, while the Hurricanes pipped the Blues.
For the Blues it was yet another loss to a New Zealand team and one that could so easily have been a win.
Crucial moments proved costly as they fell 28-24 in Wellington.
Mark Abbott crossed for his second try in the 72nd minute to see the Hurricanes home.
The first half was all action, with the Hurricanes holding a 21-14 lead at the break.
Both teams crossed the whitewash within five minutes and again before the 20th minute.
Beauden Barrett scooped up a dropped pass and ran away to break the deadlock, before receiving his third yellow card in two weeks minutes later.
The Blues were unable to make that count, but did manage to take the lead midway through the second half after a penalty and a try.
However, they were unable to close the game out and remain on the bottom of the New Zealand conference.
The Hurricanes are in third, just one point behind a Chiefs side which made hard work of beating the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
While the Kiwi side ran out a 41-27 winner, it had to do so after giving the host a 24-0 lead.
Raymond Rhule, Torsten van Jaarsveld and Francois Venter all scored tries within the first 21 minutes, forcing the Chiefs to rally.
Rally they did, as Toni Pulu scored two to bring it back to 24-14 at halftime.
The Chiefs finally edged in front in the 60th minute after a James Lowe try, before two late tries made it look more convincing,
The Crusaders remained unbeaten with a 50-3 win over the Sunwolves in atrocious conditions in Christchurch.
Meanwhile, the Rebels upset the Brumbies to claim their first win of the season in Melbourne.
The Brumbies scored three tries to the Rebels' one, but the Melbourne side got through thanks to four Reece Hodge penalty goals.
Also in Australia, the Reds toppled the Kings 47-34 to claim their second win of the season.
In the battle of the top two South African teams, the Lions claimed a 29-16 win over the Stormers in Cape Town.
The Bulls won their second game of the season, beating the the Jaguares 26-13 in Pretoria.