Price makes 31 saves, Canadiens beat Stars

DALLAS – Carey Price made 31 saves, and Montreal killed nine of 10 power plays in the Canadiens' 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Sunday night.

Andrei Kostitsyn and Alex Kovalev scored in the second period, and Chris Higgins added a third-period goal. With the victory, the Canadiens jumped to fifth in the Eastern Conference and improved to 4-12-1 in their last 17 road games.

Price, 3-10-1 since returning from an ankle injury, came up with a big stop on Mike Modano early in the third and made a glove save on James Neal with 10:32 remaining.

Loui Eriksson had a power-play goal for Dallas, and Marty Turco made 16 saves. The Stars lost their sixth straight at home to match a franchise record set in 1970 in Minnesota. Dallas has scored seven goals during the six-game home skid.

The Stars were coming off a 2-0-1 trip against Pacific Division rivals San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim, but power-play problems contributed to another home loss. Tied for seventh in the West with 70 points, Dallas is 8-for-66 in its last 15 games.

The Stars got the early jump when Eriksson scored his 32nd at 4:52 of the first period. He scored into an open net after the puck caromed off Montreal defenseman Mike Komisarek's skate while the Stars held a 5-on-3 advantage.

The Canadiens took nine penalties in the first period, helping the Stars to a 10-3 shots advantage. But Dallas was unable to extend its lead, managing one shot during a stretch of 5-on-3 that lasted about 3 1/2 minutes in the first and second periods.

Montreal tied it 5 minutes into the second period Kostitsyn notched his 23rd from the slot off Saku Koivu's setup.

Dallas had just killed a power play when Kovalev blasted a shot from the top of the left circle that whizzed past Turco's left shoulder at 14:51 of the second period for Kovalev's 16th, giving Montreal a 2-1 lead.

Notes:@ Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau and assistant coach Kirk Muller are former Stars players. Montreal GM Bob Gainey is a one-time Dallas coach and GM, and Canadiens assistant coach Doug Jarvis filled the same role for the Stars. Dallas' Mike Ribeiro, Stephane Robidas and Steve Begin are former Montreal players. ... This was the only meeting between the teams this season. Dallas won the last matchup at home on Dec. 23, 2007, 4-1. ... Turco has started 36 of the last 37 games. ... RW Jere Lehtinen missed his third straight game for Dallas with what the club is terming an upper-body injury. ... Montreal's Mathieu Schneider was assessed a double-minor for high-sticking in the first period after his stick struck Steve Ott in the mouth, knocking out one of Ott's front teeth and breaking others. Ott remained in the game. ... Montreal was outscored 7-2 in losing the first two games on its three-game trip.







Kasahara