National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Montreal 3, NY Islanders 1
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Where: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Referees: Justin St. Pierre, Francis Charron
Linesmen: Derek Amell, Jean Morin
Attendance: 16170

Canadiens 3, Islanders 1: Carey Price made 37 saves to help Montreal enter the holiday break with a road victory.

Defenseman Andrei Markov, Brendan Gallagher and David Desharnais scored for the Canadiens, who have won five of their last six. Alex Galchenyuk assisted on Gallagher’s goal to give him seven points (four tallies) during his four-game streak.

Kyle Okposo netted the lone goal for New York, which saw its four-game winning streak come to an end. Chad Johnson stopped 18 shots in his first start since Dec. 9.

Price weathered the storm in the first period, stopping 13-of-14 shots. Okposo opened the scoring 12:04 into the contest, but Markov got Montreal on the board 6:10 into the second period with a slap shot from the point and Gallagher snapped home his 10th of the season 5:17 later to put the Canadiens in front.

Desharnais scored his third goal in five games during a give-and-go with Lars Eller, redirecting a return feed around Johnson with 1:11 remaining in the third period. Price stopped all 15 shots he faced over the final 20 minutes.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Islanders G Jaroslav Halak was a healthy scratch after starting the previous five games. … Montreal went 0-for-2 on the power play, dropping to 4-for-46 in man-advantage opportunities on the road. … New York fell to 10-2-0 at home since the end of October.
Top Game Performances
 
Montreal   NY Islanders
David Desharnais 1 Points Kyle Okposo 1
David Desharnais 1 Goals Kyle Okposo 1
Lars Eller 1 Assists John Tavares 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Carey Price .974 Save Percentage Chad Johnson .857
Carey Price 37 Saves Chad Johnson 18
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Montreal 21 3 0-2 2-2 6 27
NY Islanders 38 1 0-2 2-2 8 28
Upcoming Games
  • NY Islanders will play their next game on the road against Buffalo. The Islanders have a W/L % of .739 after a win and .545 after a loss.
  • Montreal will play their next game on the road against Carolina. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .571 after a loss.