Game 734
Canadiens 2, Maple Leafs 1
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Centre Bell, Montréal, Québec

The Montréal Canadiens got a big boost from Alexander Radulov’s return from illness.

Radulov and Shea Weber set up goals by Paul Byron and Alex Galchenyuk, and Montréal ended a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Bell Centre on Saturday.

Byron scored his seventh goal at 15:45 of the first period, and Galchenyuk made it 2-0 with his seventh on a power play at 0:32 of the second.

Radulov, who missed the past two games, has eight assists during a six-game points streak.

“He’s got so much passion and his passion, he brings that to his teammates, his linemates, and that line was really good tonight,” Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. “(Galchenyuk) was good, (Byron) again, what a big goal that he scored because we had a really good start, and I like his work ethic and I like his passion.”

Carey Price made 31 saves for the Canadiens (14-3-2).

Price, who was rested for Montréal’s 3-2 loss at the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, is the first Canadiens goalie without a regulation loss in his first 12 games of the season since Ken Dryden started with eight wins and four ties in 1972-73.

William Nylander scored a power-play goal at 8:47 of the second period for Toronto (8-7-3), which scored 12 goals in winning its past two games, including a 6-1 win against the Florida Panthers on Thursday. Frederik Andersen made 27 saves.

“I expected us to come here and win,” Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “They played back-to-back, we had an opportunity. In the end, we didn’t execute. I mean, it was a good game, don’t get me wrong, hard-fought, we had our opportunities, all those things.

“You set expectations for yourself in life, and if you set high expectations, you have a chance to reach them. And if you don’t, you settle for second best. To me, we’ve got to get over the mindset, we should be coming in here to win, and so we’ve got to get that fixed.”

Radulov set up Montréal’s first goal with a pass back to the right point for Weber, whose one-timer was deflected by Byron between Andersen’s pads.

Galchenyuk, who ended a six-game points streak Friday, scored five seconds after Maple Leafs center Tyler Bozak was penalized for tripping at 0:27 of the second.

After winning the faceoff in Toronto’s zone, Galchenyuk turned around as Weber passed from the left point to Radulov on the right side. Radulov passed across the slot to Galchenyuk, who drove to the net and shot past Andersen.

“He makes plays at top-end speed,” Galchenyuk said. “His playmaking skills, they’re great.”

NOTES: Pacioretty played his 500th game…Matthews has no points in his past four games, and has not scored a goal in 12 games.

Story property of NHL.com, photo property of SB Nation

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BOXSCORE
1st Period
TOR PEN – 07:02 – Kadri, interference
TOR PEN – 10:18 – Gardiner, hooking
MTL GOAL – 15:45 – Byron (Weber, Radulov)
MTL PEN – 16:15 – Beaulieu, interference

2nd Period
TOR PEN – 00:27 – Bozak, tripping
MTL PP GOAL – 00:32 – Galchenyuk (Radulov, Weber)
MTL PEN – 07:11 – Pacioretty, holding
TOR PP GOAL – 08:47 – Nylander (Komarov, Matthews)
TOR PEN – 09:52 – Carrick, high sticking
MTL PEN – 16:53 – Danault, hooking

3rd Period
TOR PEN – 11:58 – Martin, boarding / roughing double minor
MTL PEN – 11:58 – Beaulieu, roughing
MTL PEN – 15:57 – Hudon, interference
MTL PEN – 20:00 – Emelin, cross checking

GOALTENDERS
MTL – Price (W, 31-32)
TOR – Andersen (L, 27-29)

SHOTS ON GOAL
MTL – 14+7+8 = 29
TOR – 9+12+11 = 32

ROSTERS
MTL – Goaltenders: Al Montoya, Carey Price. Defence: Nathan Beaulieu, Alexei Emelin, Joel Hanley, Andrei Markov (A), Jeff Petry, Shea Weber. Forwards: Paul Byron, Phillip Danault, David Desharnais, Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, Charles Hudon, Torrey Mitchell, Max Pacioretty (C), Tomas Plekanec (A), Alexander Radulov, Andrew Shaw, Chris Terry.
TOR – Goaltenders: Frederik Andersen, Jhonas Enroth. Defence: Connor Carrick, Jake Gardiner, Matt Hunwick (A), Roman Polak, Morgan Rielly (A), Nikita Zaitsev. Forwards: Tyler Bozak (A), Connor Brown, Zach Hyman, Nazem Kadri, Leo Komarov, Mitchell Marner, Matt Martin, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Ben Smith, Nikita Soshnikov, James van Riemsdyk.

TEAM RECORDS
MTL – 14-3-2 (.789)
TOR – 8-7-3 (.528)

ATTENDANCE
21,288

THREE STARS
⭐ Alexander Radulov (MTL)
⭐⭐ Carey Price (MTL)
⭐⭐⭐ Shea Weber (MTL)