Canadiens 4, Islanders 2
MONTREAL -- Center Lars Eller and left winger Alex Galchenyuk each had a goal and two assists, and the Montreal Canadiens ended a four-game winless skid with a 4-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday night.
Goaltender Carey Price made 24 saves for the Canadiens, who were 0-3-1 in their previous four games.
Right wing Brendan Gallagher scored the first of Montreal's three second-period goals, and Eller and left wing Michael Bournival scored power-play goals 2:50 apart late in the middle period to put the Canadiens up 3-1. Gallagher assisted on Galchenyuk's goal at 10:37 of the third, which restored Montreal's two-goal lead.
Left wingers Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Brock Nelson scored power-play goals for the Islanders, who wrapped up an 0-4-0 road trip. Center John Tavares assisted on both goals.
New York goaltender Kevin Poulin, a native of Montreal, stopped 27 shots.
Nelson, who took the injured Thomas Vanek's place on the Islanders' top line with Tavares and right winger Kyle Okposo, cut the Canadiens' lead to 3-2 at 4:10 of the third period.
Nelson fanned from the edge of the crease on Tavares' centering pass from behind the net, but he directed the puck with his right skate between Price's legs and into the net. A video review upheld the on-ice ruling that Nelson did not use a kicking motion.
Bouchard got the Islanders' first power-play goal in their past 25 opportunities to tie the score at 1 at 7:23 of the second.
Eller scored his sixth goal at 16:14 to restore Montreal's one-goal lead. Bournival made it 3-1 at 19:04 when he deflected defenseman Raphael Diaz's point shot into the top right corner.
Gallagher opened the scoring with his team-leading goal at 1:46 of the second. He took Galchenyuk's pass off his skate at the blue line and beat Poulin with a drive from the right side inside the left post.
NOTES: Hall of Fame goaltender Vladislav Tretiak was on hand for the game. The Russian international hockey legend waved to the crowd to acknowledge a warm ovation when he was shown on the video scoreboard in the second period. ... Islanders LW Thomas Vanek missed the game because of an upper-body injury he suffered on Saturday. Vanek left and did not return after his first shift early in the first period of New York's 5-2 loss to the Blue Jackets in Columbus. He has one goal and two assists in six games with the Islanders since he was acquired from Buffalo on Oct. 27 in a trade that sent LW Matt Moulson to the Sabres along with a first-round draft pick in 2014 and a second-round pick in 2015. Vanek has five goals and seven assists in 19 games overall this season. ... D Radek Martinek was left out of the Islanders' lineup for a second straight game. ... Canadiens RW George Parros was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. Parros played Montreal's previous four games since returning from a concussion he suffered in the Canadiens' season opener on Oct. 4.
