Thomas Greiss, Islanders shut out Canadiens

MONTREAL --Thomas Greiss made 24 saves for his third shutout, and the New York Islanders defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-0 at Bell Centre on Thursday for their third straight win.
Anthony Beauvillier, Anders Lee and John Tavares scored for New York (29-21-10), which has won the first two of a nine-game road trip.
"We did a heck of a job today, really, all over the ice," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "Our first three strides were very purposeful. We frustrated them, really good neutral zone, we broke the puck out extremely well. Our (defensemen) played great, so I think you can go through every player, we had a pretty good effort."

Greiss' seventh NHL shutout spoiled Claude Julien's 1,000th game as NHL coach. The Canadiens have been shut out in four of their past eight games.
WATCH: All Islanders vs. Canadiens highlights
"A game like that you want to get him a win," Montreal center Tomas Plekanec said.
Carey Price made 21 saves for the Canadiens, who were coming off a 3-2 shootout win at the New York Rangers on Tuesday.
"It was disappointing," Montreal forward Brendan Gallagher said. "We played a good game in New York and had a good chance to create some momentum. I was just disappointed in the effort, well not the effort, just the way we played."
The Canadiens (32-21-8) are 1-2-0 since Julien replaced Michel Therrien on Feb. 14 and 2-7-1 in their past 10 games. Montreal has not won consecutive games since winning three straight from Jan. 3-7.

Beauvillier, 19, from nearby Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, scored at 5:28 of the first period to give New York a 1-0 lead.
"It was great to see him score in his hometown," Tavares said. "I think that got everyone fired up. I know how pumped he was to get the opportunity tonight."
Lee made it 2-0 at 5:58 of the second.
Tavares scored his 23rd goal into an empty net with 59 seconds remaining.
"We didn't manage the puck well," said Julien, the 27th coach in League history to coach 1,000 or more games. "That was one of the keys to our game tonight, because the Islanders love turnovers, and we didn't do good work in the neutral zone."
Montreal had goals waved off 56 seconds apart in the third period. A video review at 6:50 confirmed that Plekanec's stick was above the crossbar when he deflected Weber's shot from the right point past Greiss, and Artturi Lehkonen had a goal disallowed at 7:46 after he punched the puck past Greiss with his right glove.

Goal of the game

Beauvillier shot past Price from the left side to finish off a passing play with Nick Leddy and Brock Nelson for his sixth goal.

Save of the game

Greiss gloved Weber's one-timer from the left point at 14:48 of the first period. It was his second straight save on Weber during the Canadiens' only power-play opportunity of the game.

Highlight of the game

Josh Bailey flipped a backhand pass between Canadiens defensemen Shea Weber and Alexei Emelin to set up Lee, who swept in alone and shot past Price for his 23rd goal. "I think [Bailey] sold everybody in the building," Tavares said. "I thought it was coming to me, and Anders just slipped back in."

Unsung performance of the game

Islanders center Bracken Kearns, who was called up from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League on Wednesday, had two shots on goal, five hits and two blocked shots in 10:12 in his first NHL game this season. He was 3-for-6 on faceoffs.

They said it

"It was great. I think he was a little surprised. I remember my first game in my hometown, and you look forward to it. It's really exciting, lots of friends and family. I know how long his guest list is tonight, so I really wanted him to soak it in. So we just gave him the whole moment there, and he stepped up. He obviously enjoyed it, and it was great to see him get rewarded." -- Islanders captain John Tavares on rookie forward Anthony Beauvillier, a Quebec native who was sent out on his own for a few laps to begin warmups
"I've never been so happy that the Canadiens didn't score when I've been at Bell Centre." -- Islanders forward Anthony Beauvillier
"We haven't played good enough. They pay good money to come watch us play, and they deserve better than that." -- Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty on getting booed at home

Need to know

Greiss' third shutout is an NHL career high. He had two for the Phoenix Coyotes in 2013-14. … Price failed in his first attempt to move ahead of Ken Dryden for third place in wins by a Canadiens goalie. He tied Dryden with his 258th against the Rangers on Tuesday.

What's next

Islanders: At the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday (5 p.m. ET; FS-O, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV)
Canadiens:At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, CITY, TVA Sports, NHL.TV)