Byron SO goal hands new (old) Habs coach Julien his 1st (73rd) win
Carey Price makes 28 saves as Montreal ends 3-game slide
Carey Price gave the Montreal Canadiens a much-needed win.
Price made 28 saves and Paul Byron scored in the fifth round of the shootout as Montreal beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Tuesday night to give coach Claude Julien his first win in his second stint with the Canadiens.
Price stopped Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller twice in the OT at Madison Square Garden, including a diving save in the closing seconds of the extra period .
"They made a really good play on the 2-on-1 [break]," Price said. "Just laid out and it hit me."
CAREY PRICE WHAT?! <a href="https://t.co/agnGIchkar">pic.twitter.com/agnGIchkar</a>
—@NHLThe Canadiens, who started the season 13-1-1, are trying to fend off Ottawa for the lead in the Atlantic Division.
"We were desperate for sure," Price said. "We need to play that way for the rest of the season.
"If we're going to find that consistency in our game. If we keep giving out efforts like that, it'll come."
With the win, Price moved into a tie with Ken Dryden for third on the franchise's wins list among goaltenders with the 258th of his career.
Julien took over last week after Michel Therrien was fired and the Canadiens lost to Winnipeg on Saturday in his first game.
"It's a great feeling, but I think overall, I think it's a great feeling for the whole team," Julien said. "We needed this win. It's been tough, and I think playing the way we did tonight hopefully encourages us to play that way moving on here."
Shea Weber had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens. Andrew Shaw also scored for Montreal.
'We kind of blew it'
The Rangers' Mats Zuccarello opened the shootout with a goal and Montreal's Alexander Radulov tied it in the second round.
"Carey is always good for us," Radulov said. "Even in that stretch when we were losing games, he was still good for us and giving us a chance to win.
"We kind of blew it and didn't get it done, but it's nice to see today the guys regroup and giving everything they've got to get the W."
Rick Nash and Oscar Lindberg scored in regulation for the Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves as New York snapped its five-game home win streak.
Lundqvist stopped Max Pacioretty halfway through overtime and Montreal's Tomas Plekanec hit the post late in the period.