MONTREAL -- The San Jose Sharks weren't happy with their power play in their last game. They made it up for it against the Montreal Canadiens.

San Jose connected twice on four first-period opportunities and staked out a 4-0 lead before holding off the Canadiens for a 4-2 triumph on Friday night at the Bell Centre.

"We kind of struck out on the power play in Ottawa a bit so we talked about that this morning," Joe Thornton said. "We know how tough these guys are here at home so we wanted to get off to a quick start, and that just helped us out."

The Canadiens were whistled for three infractions in the first seven and a half minutes, including a penalty just 13 seconds in.

"We battled back at the end but that's a team that we wanted to keep off the power play," Max Pacioretty said. "They're dangerous on the power play, we know that they rely on getting their chances on the power play and then building off that, and feeding off that confidence, and that's what they did."

David Schlemko, Patrick Marleau, Timo Meier and Melker Karlsson scored for San Jose, which won its fourth straight.

Montreal (19-7-4) got goals from Brian Flynn and Jeff Petry.

Martin Jones had 26 saves for the Sharks (19-11-1). Carey Price allowed four goals on 18 shots for Montreal and Al Montoya stopped all five shots he faced in relief.

The Sharks' power play, which hasn't enjoyed nearly the same success on the road as it has on home ice, connected on its second advantage of the night at 6:50 of the first period. Schlemko fired a shot from the top of the left circle, beating a screened Price for his first of the season.

Marleau doubled San Jose's lead less than three minutes later, again on the power play. Joe Thornton waited patiently behind Montreal's net before sending a perfect feed to Marleau, untouched in the slot.

"We know we have to be better, play with more urgency early on, stay out of the box and roll four lines," Max Pacioretty said. "Just dug too big of a hole to dig ourselves out of."

Meier, making his NHL debut, pushed Montreal deeper into the hole at 13:18. Price stopped Schlemko's point shot but the loose puck was there in front for the 20-year-old to send a backhand into the net.

"In this building, scoring (your) first goal on (your) first shot, it's hard to describe in words," said Meier, who played junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). "I'm happy but at the same time, I know I can do much more, too."

Karlsson chased Price at 6:44 of the second period. Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec tried to backhand the puck around the end boards to a teammate, but Micheal Haley intercepted it, sending it to Karlsson in the low slot, and the Karlsson lifted a backhander past Price.

Coach Michel Therrien, who had planned to have Montoya start Saturday's game in Washington, used his backup to replace Price. It was the first time since Oct. 13, 2014, that Price was pulled from a game.

"Pricey didn't get pulled because he wasn't good enough," defenseman Nathan Beaulieu said. "He's the best player in the world and he's our best player. It had nothing to do with him -- it was us. Sometimes we need a wake-up call."

Therrien announced after the game that Price would now get the start against the Capitals.

Flynn busted Jones' shutout bid at 10:28 of the third period when Zach Redmond found him at the side of the net for the tap-in.

Petry brought Montreal within two nearly 3 1/2 minutes later. After missing a wide-open net in close, the defenseman found his way back to the point and fired a shot that hit bodies and sticks in front before finding its way past Jones.

Montreal winger Sven Andrighetto left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return. He was ruled out for Saturday's tilt in Washington, leading the Canadiens to call up forward Chris Terry from the AHL's St. John's IceCaps after the game.

NOTES: Montreal RW Andrew Shaw was a late scratch against the Sharks, as the team announced he would miss the game with concussion-like symptoms that developed late Thursday afternoon. The team also announced that he wouldn't make the trip to Washington, where the Habs will face the Capitals on Saturday night. ... Canadiens D Mark Barberio was the team's lone healthy scratch. ... Called up Thursday from the AHL's San Jose Barracuda, RW Timo Meier made his NHL debut. ... The Sharks scratched RW Joel Ward, LW Matt Nieto and D Dylan DeMelo. ... San Jose RW Joonas Donskoi drew back in after sitting out Wednesday's game in Ottawa. ... Montreal C Tomas Plekanec appeared in his 200th consecutive game.