Canadiens hold off Maple Leafs

MONTREAL -- Goaltender Carey Price's return to full health and the additions of defenseman Shea Weber and forward Alexander Radulov continue to fuel the Montreal Canadiens' fiery start to the season.
Weber scored on a 4-on-3 power play at 7:24 of the third period and Montreal extended its winning streak to seven with a 2-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Bell Centre on Saturday.

Price, who missed most of last season because of a knee injury, made 37 saves to improve to 5-0-0 since missing the first three games of the season because of the flu.
"I'm definitely not surprised, I know how good he is," Weber said. "He's one of the best in the world. He's just so consistent every night and gives us a chance to win. Tonight, when we weren't at our best early on, he kept us in it and we found a way to get our legs under us."

Weber one-timed a slap shot from the slot for his fourth goal on a return pass from Radulov 31 seconds after rookie Toronto defenseman Connor Carrick was penalized for hooking.
Weber's third game-winning goal gave the Canadiens (8-0-1) their longest winning streak since they won their first nine games last season.
"He's playing excellent hockey," Montreal coach Michel Therrien said. "He's scoring big goals, making big plays at the right times. He's acting like a real leader. A leader to me is based on your actions, and he's had a very positive impact on our team."
Radulov also assisted on Alex Galchenyuk's third goal, which gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 6:11 of the second period.

Toronto center Nazem Kadri tied it at 1-1 with his third goal on a power play at 4:18 of the third. Weber was unable to prevent Kadri from deflecting William Nylander's pass from the slot past Price.
"Willy did a great job finding me," Kadri said. "We worked the puck around and the middle was open and I just had my stick on the ice and was able to beat him far side."
Frederik Andersen made 29 saves for the Maple Leafs (2-3-3).
Galchenyuk scored for a second straight game when he drove to the net to take a pass from Radulov, who remained on Montreal's top line against Toronto after moving to left wing in the third period of the Canadiens' 3-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

Goal of the game

The Canadiens have scored on the power play in seven of the past eight games. "We just seemed to come up with a timely one again," Weber said. "That's what you want to do, you want to score big goals. Tonight we were fortunate to do that."

Save of the game

Andersen looked behind him to make sure the puck didn't come loose after his save on Max Pacioretty's breakaway shot at 12:29 of the third period kept Toronto within 2-1.

Highlight of the game

Galchenyuk gave Radulov full credit for setting up his goal. "I knew (he) was flying off to the right side so I just wanted to give it to him," Galchenyuk said. "And I got the bounce over and I knew he didn't really have a shot, so I knew a player like him, if he doesn't have a shot, he's going to try to make a pass. I wanted to get in the zone as soon as I can, you know. It was an easy goal."

Unsung moment of the game

Radulov backchecked to break up a potential breakaway pass from Maple Leafs center Tyler Bozak to rookie right wing Mitchell Marner in the second period when Montreal held a 1-0 lead. "He just reached his stick out and poked the puck off, so it was a good play by him," Bozak said.

They said it

"Well, I thought we did a lot of good things. I thought both goaltenders were good. I didn't like the 4-on-3 goal, I think that's on the coaches. Our plan wasn't good enough. We shouldn't have left (Weber) hammer away there. You know we had good chances, and in the end, Carey (Price) made some good saves and I thought our goalie made some good saves. It was a good hockey game, but we had lots of opportunity, for sure." -- Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock
"They played very well. They played with a lot of speed, a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of skill. That's going to be a really good hockey team." --Canadiens goalie Carey Price about the Maple Leafs
"I thought it was a tough night for our team. We just went through a tough stretch, this was our fifth game in eight nights with travel. I felt our team didn't have the same energy as the Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs played a good game, they were skating and they have a lot of speed. We were in trouble on more than one occasion because of their speed. But we found a way to win. Carey Price was excellent. He stole the game." -- Canadiens coach Michel Therrien

Need to know

Rookie Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews failed to record a point for the first time in five road games. He has five goals and three assists on the road. ... Babcock confirmed that goaltender Jhonas Enroth with start at the New York Islanders on Sunday. ... Weber has scored three of his four goals on the power play. Former Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban, who was traded to the Nashville Predators for Weber on June 29, had two power-play goals for Montreal last season.

What's next

Maple Leafs: At the New York Islanders on Sunday (6 p.m. ET; SNONE, SN360, MSG+, NHL.TV)
Canadiens: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; SN, RDS, NHL.TV)