Marner's 3 assists lead Maple Leafs over Panthers

 Blood was still dripping from just above the left eye of Toronto goaltender Frederik Andersen moments after the Maple Leafs' 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

Andersen stopped 29 of 31 shots, bouncing back from the worst start of his NHL career two nights earlier, a seven-goal shelling at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The 27-year-old looked calm and composed in the crease versus Florida, coming up big in perhaps the Leafs' worst defensive showing of the young season.

"He was our best player by far," coach Mike Babcock said on a night that saw rookie Mitch Marner finish with three impressive assists.

Andersen said he was just trying to be patient and let the play come to him. Over-aggression was evident in earlier outings, particularly the shellacking against Tampa on Tuesday.

"That's probably the biggest challenge as a goalie is just to try to relax and be calm," the native of Denmark explained. "You want to be good and help your team win, but you can't decide when you get to make a save so you've just got to be patient."

Andersen, who gave up four goals or more in four of his first five starts, tried to have a little bit more fun around the rink, too, going out of his way to share an extra laugh or two with teammates ahead of the game.

Andersen often looked like he was being weighed down by the pressures of Toronto, a vastly more intense market from Anaheim, not to mention the rich five-year contract he signed after a trade from the Ducks and his new position as an undisputed No. 1 starter.

"Everybody is a proud person and wants to do really well and sometimes when it doesn't go well you put undue pressure on yourself instead of just enjoying it," Babcock said. "I keep telling the guys, in this market, maybe more so than any market, you have to have something away from hockey that you love to do so you don't focus on hockey. If you focus on hockey all the time it just wears you out and you come to the rink with no energy."

Led by its vaunted top line of Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Marchessault and Jaromir Jagr, Florida buzzed often throughout the night, capitalizing on turnovers and sloppy defensive zone play. Babcock thought his team gave up more scoring chances than it had in any of the previous six games.

Andersen, however, came up with one big save after another.

Though he surrendered the game's opening goal to Marchessault, on which he had no chance, Andersen then turned aside Greg McKegg on a breakaway as well as Colton Sceviour later in the period, the Florida winger outmaneuvering Jake Gardiner for a quality chance in the slot.

Andersen did allow a weak second goal to Marchessault, the shot beating him high on a second period Florida power play, but he quickly recovered with a series of stops on another Panthers man advantage, going right to left to get one particularly suave stop on Sceviour.

The Leafs tied the game 2-2 about a minute after that save on a goal from James van Riemsdyk and then went ahead for good six minutes later on the second of two on the evening from Tyler Bozak.

All three Toronto goals were set up by Marner, the 19-year-old who enjoyed his first ever multi-point game in the NHL. Marner's passes were of the wow variety, particularly a no-look pass to Bozak on that third Leaf goal.

"If you're Bozak or van Riemsdyk, you know you're getting two or three real good looks a game out of the kid," Babcock said before the game.

Babcock has raved about Marner's skill and competitiveness often thus far, though he was less pleased with his performance in Tuesday's loss to Tampa Bay than the five that came before that.

"They all expect my 100 percent every game and even I do myself," Marner said. "I just wanted to make sure I came into this game ready to play and knew when I had the chances just make sure they go into the net."

Andersen came up bloody with less than eight minutes remaining, the blade of Sceviour's stick finding a hole in the goaltender's mask and cutting him just above the left eye.

The cut was a small price to pay for a much-needed win.

"Any time you can walk out of the rink with a win it's a good day," Andersen said. "Good way to bounce back from last game."

Roberto Luongo made 25 saves for the Panthers.

NOTES: Jagr, who set up Florida's first goal, moved into sole possession of seventh on the all-times game played list (1,636), passing Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Stevens. The 44-year-old is three games from tying Dave Anderchuk for sixth place. ... Seth Griffith made his Maple Leafs debut, totaling just under nine minutes of ice time.

UP NEXT

Panthers: At Buffalo on Saturday in the third game of a four-game trip.

Maple Leafs: At Montreal on Saturday in the front end of a back-to-back.

Crosby's late goal leads Penguins past Islanders

All Marc-Andre Fleury ever wants to do is give his team a chance to stay in the game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins' goalie did that and more on Thursday against the New York Islanders.

Fleury had 31 of his 35 saves through two periods, keeping the game close and allowing Sidney Crosby to score the tiebreaking goal late in the third to lead the Penguins to a 4-2 victory over the Islanders.

"We were under a lot of pressure, we were on our heels and he made some huge saves that allowed us to keep the lead," Penguins' coach Mike Sullivan said. "He was terrific."

Fleury faced just five shots in the third period while starting for the eighth straight game. Fleury won for the 19th time in his last 24 home starts and has given up two or fewer goals in five of the first six home games.

"I know the guys are trying hard," Fleury said. "I'm just trying to keep the score close and keep them ahead."

Patric Hornqvist, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel also scored - each getting his third of the season - to help the defending champion Penguins win for the third time in four games and improve to 5-0-1 at home.

Crosby, playing for the second straight game after missing the first six with a concussion, scored with 2:25 left as he caught a pass from Scott Wilson at the top of the crease and quickly turned to his forehand to put the puck behind Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak.

Crosby, who also scored in his season debut on Tuesday, now has points in 10 straight regular season games dating back to last season.

Kessel added a power-play goal to cap the scoring 32 seconds later.

Travis Hamonic and Shane Prince scored for the Islanders, who fell to 0-3-0 on the road. Halak finished with 31 saves.

Malkin broke a 1-1 tie with 7:12 left in the third as he took a pass from Kessel and pulled up ahead of Islanders defenseman Dennis Seidenberg before placing a shot between Halak's pads.

Prince, playing for the first time after missing five games with a lower-body injury, tied it again with 4:22 remaining. Fleury left the net to play a shot into the zone but the puck caromed off the boards to Prince, who put it into an empty net.

"I felt bad because I shouldn't have come out of the net," Fleury said. "If I would've stayed in the net, we would've been fine. I was happy to see Sid bury that one."

Pittsburgh won three of four against the Islanders last season, the eighth time in nine years the Penguins won the season series. The Islanders played the second half of a back-to-back after falling at home against Montreal on Wednesday.

"No one is going to feel sorry for us," Hamonic said. "Frustrating result the past two games, but you move forward. We have to keep going. That's all we can do."

Hornqvist opened the scoring with a power-play goal 46 seconds into the game. Pittsburgh has scored a power-play goal in all six home games.

Crosby, standing at the left post, set up Hornqvist on the opposite side during a slick passing sequence that also involved Kessel.

Fleury kept it a one-goal game with three saves in succession on Nick Leddy's point shot, Thomas Hickey's redirection and a blocker stop on Josh Bailey. Prince later hit the post to the left of a sprawled Fleury on a breakaway.

The Islanders tied it late in the second period on their 28th shot. Hamonic finished a 2-on-1 from Prince, beating Fleury to the blocker side.

"We're giving up more shots and chances than I think we're accustomed to and (Fleury) has been there to make that timely save for us," Sullivan said. "It gives our guys a chance to grab ahold of ourselves and play the game the right way. I thought in the third period our guys responded."

NOTES: Sullivan didn't have an update on F Carl Hagelin, who left late in the third after taking a hit into the boards. .. G Matt Murray, who led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup in June, dressed as Fleury's backup for the second straight game since returning from a broken hand sustained in last month's World Cup of Hockey. ... Penguins' D Kris Letang missed a fourth straight game with an upper-body injury, but he participated in Thursday's morning skate and is close to a return. ... Conor Sheary (eye) missed his fourth straight game for Pittsburgh, as did Derrick Pouliot (undisclosed). ... Islanders F Nikolay Kulemin missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury. ... Eric Boulton (lower body), Ryan Pulock (lower body) and Mathew Barzalalso sat for the Islanders.

UP NEXT

Islanders: Open a five-game homestand Sunday against Toronto on Sunday.

Penguins: Begin a four-game road trip Saturday at Philadelphia. Pittsburgh's next home game is Nov. 8 against Edmonton.

Coyotes end 5-game road losing streak with 5-4 win at Philly

Brayden Schenn and Jakob Chychrunpunched each other so much they could have used a bell to stop the fight.

Schenn would have at least settled for a whistle.

With all eyes on the brawl, Martin Hanzal kept his on the puck and slipped it in the net to help the Arizona Coyotes beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 on Thursday night to snap a five-game road losing streak.

Schenn, a Flyers center, had no idea why the refs didn't blow the whistle during the scrum.

"Yeah, that's usually what happens when a fight starts," he said. "I don't know if it's a delayed whistle or not. I didn't even see the puck go in."

Hey, neither did goaltender Steve Mason.

Mason allowed Hanzal and Brad Richardson to snap a tie game with two straight goals in the third. Jamie McGinn, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Ryan White also scored for Arizona, which has its only two wins this season against the Flyers.

The Coyotes salvaged one victory on a season-long, six-game road trip.

"Don't kid yourself. There's still a lot of work to do," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said.

Louis Domingue stopped 28 shots and won his first game of the season. He had been 0-4 with a 5.03 goals against average and had stopped only 85 percent of his shots.

Schenn, Nick Cousins, Andrew MacDonald and Wayne Simmonds scored for the Flyers.

Arizona's two straight goals in the third came in a bit of a bizarre manner.

Schenn leveled defenseman Michael Stone and Chychrun quickly came to his defense. Chychrun and Schenn brawled against the boards as the crowd erupted - and no one paid attention to the puck.

"I wasn't really paying attention to what was going on," Mason said. "I was focused on the play coming at me. Whether there was a whistle blown or not, we still gave up a goal."

Hanzal made it 3-2 and led to a few confusing moments as officials checked to make sure the goal was scored before the fight. Wildly cheering fans fell silent in a second when the goal was announced.

"I look at the monitor at my feet and you could see the one referee signal it's a good goal," Tippett said. "But then I don't know what the other one was doing up by the fight."

Chychrun was tossed for instigating the fight.

Richardson made it 4-2 on a goal that was reviewed because the Flyers thought he ran down Mason. Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov took Richardson down and they went into the net together so the goal counted.

MacDonald, having a miserable season, made it 4-3 but the Flyers were out of rallies.

White scored an insurance goal late in third to send fans toward the exits. Simmonds scored with 14.3 seconds left.

The Flyers again had to rally from an early deficit, a troubling theme for a team with playoff aspirations. The Coyotes led 2-0 in the first, the latest slow start for the Flyers. They have been outscored 8-1 in the first period this season and allowed the first goal for the seventh straight game.

Coach Dave Hakstol hoped a line change would boost the Flyers offense. He moved 19-year-old rookie centerTravis Konecny to the top line with Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek after that late-game pairing helped the Flyers come back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Buffalo.

"We needed a spark, that's why we're trying something a little bit different," Hakstol said.

The Flyers needed help early.

Moments after they honored former great Eric Lindros - in his No. 88 sweater - another 88 got them with a goal. McGinn scored his first goal of the season to beat Mason. Ekman-Larsson followed with a slapper from the point for his fifth goal of the season.

The Coyotes, who last won on opening night against the Flyers on Oct. 15, failed to hold the lead.

Cousins pounded home a rebound for his first goal of the season and Schenn followed with a power-play score to help the Flyers at least tie the game when down two goals for the fifth time this season.

Notes: The Flyers played without a suspended player for the first time this season. ... The Flyers honored 14 members of the team's Hall of Fame, along with the family of six other members, including: Bob Clarke, Ron Hextall, Bernie Parent and Dave Schultz. The Flyers have a variety of nostalgic celebrations planned this season for their 50th anniversary. ... Coyotes D Luke Schenn, a former Flyer, played against his brother.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: Host Colorado on Saturday.

Flyers: Host Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Dubnyk, Wild beat Sabres 4-0 for 2nd straight shutout

The Minnesota Wild lead the NHL scoring. Not that they needed many goals to win the past two games.

Devan Dubnyk made 38 saves for his second straight shutout and the Wild beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-0 on Thursday night.

"He's carrying us right now, so we'll ride that wave," defenseman Matt Dumba said.

Dubnyk made 27 saves Tuesday night in a 5-0 victory in Boston. He has 12 of his 21 career shutouts since joining the Wild in a trade with Arizona on Jan. 15, 2015, the most in the NHL during that span. Dubnyk's debut for the Wild was a 7-0 victory in Buffalo.

"Unfortunately, we only play here once a year," Dubnyk said. "This is a special place for me. It all began here with these guys, so there will always be good memories."

Ryan Suter had a goal and an assist, and Joel Ericsson Ek, Jason Zucker and Mikko Koivu also scored. The Wild went 2-1-1 on a four-game road trip to improve to 5-2-1.

The Wild have scored 31 goals in eight games and every player has recorded a point.

"That's how we have to win," said Suter, who leads the Wild with eight points. "We don't have the superstars. We need everybody on the team participating and so far we've been able to do that."

Anders Nillson made 18 saves in his second straight start for the Sabres. They have lost four in a row.

The Sabres started strong but did not finish Tuesday night in Philadelphia, surrendering three third period goals in a 4-3 shootout loss. On Thursday night, they started slow and never recovered.

"I felt like we were squeezing our sticks a little bit, grinding the sawdust a little bit," Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said. "We were just a little nervous with the puck. I don't know if that's from the Philly game, but that's what it felt like in the first."

Minnesota built a two-goal lead in the first period, but Buffalo controlled the action in the second. Dubnyk made 19 saves, including 15 in the first 6:11 of the period, and the Wild killed two penalties.

"I thought we had some great chances in that second period," Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly said. "If we would've got one, it would have changed the whole feel of the game. It would have tightened them up a bit."

Suter scored his third goal of the season 2:58 into the third period, sending a wobbly wrist shot from the right circle over Nillson's glove.

"They get the third one and it's tough to fight back from that," O'Reilly said.

Koivu added an empty-net goal with 1:09 left.

Eriksson Ek scored at 4:51 of the first period when he played the puck off the right boards to elude defenseman Jake McCabe and snapped a shot over Nillson's left shoulder into the far corner of the net. The 19-year-old rookie has two goals and three assists in his first four games.

Zucker scored for the second straight game to make it 2-0 with 4:47 left in the first period. Taking a pass fromChris Stewart at the blue line, Zucker skated between two defenders into a breakaway and slipped a backhand beneath Nillson's left pad.

NOTES: Minnesota D Marco Scandella went to the locker room during the first period after getting his right leg tangled up in a scrum in front of the net. ... Wild D Jared Spurgeon (upper body) and F Erik Haula are both close to returning, coach Bruce Boudreau said. Spurgeon skated Thursday morning, while Haula did not. ... Sabres F Evander Kane (cracked ribs) missed his fifth straight game and C Jack Eichel (ankle) remains out indefinitely. ... Sabres D Rasmus Ristolainen played in his 200th NHL game on his 22nd birthday. He is the fourth-youngest player to appear in 200 games for the Sabres, according to Elias Sports Bureau. . Buffalo's 38 shots were a season-high.

UP NEXT

Wild: Return home to play Dallas on Saturday.

Sabres: Host Florida on Saturday.

Silfverberg's 2 goals lead Ducks over Predators 6-1

There were plenty of special-team goals scored in a game featuring the most productive power play in the young NHL season. But to the chagrin of the Nashville Predators, it was the Anaheim Ducks that capitalized on the man-advantage and the penalty kill in a manner the franchise had never before seen.

Led by a short-handed goal and another on the power play from Jakob Silfverberg, the Ducks came away with a 6-1 victory over the Predators on Wednesday night behind three power-play goals and two short-handed goals.

It was the first time the Ducks had ever been so productive on special teams, matching a feat last accomplished by Edmonton in a March 2008 game against the Coyotes.

"If I knew the reason we'd do it every night, so I can't say I have the answer to that," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "I don't know if you can take that blueprint and expect it many more times throughout the year."

Nick Ritchie, Corey Perry, Andrew Cogliano and Ryan Kesleralso scored for Anaheim, and John Gibson stopped 28 shots, as the Ducks earned a point in their fourth consecutive game and for the fifth time in their last six outings.

The Ducks took command with five goals in the second period, Silfverberg opening the flurry for his ninth career multi-goal game. Shea Theodore found Silfverberg on an easy give-and-go for the short-handed goal, before ripping a wrist shot past Pekka Rinne to become the first Duck with two goals on special teams sinceJamie McGinn scored twice on the power play at Toronto last season.

"Once he got the first one, you see the way he can shoot it when he is confident and poised with the puck," Kesler said. "That second one was a laser."

The Predators had scored nine power-play goals in their first six games, but the Ducks did not back off while killing five penalties. Using a scouting report that encouraged constant pressure, it paid off again when Cogliano scored another short-handed goal.

"We didn't expect to get two shorties, but when you force people and they turn the puck over like they did tonight we're going to get chances," Kesler said.

Rinne had 13 saves before being pulled late in the second period after Perry scored the Ducks' only even-strength goal, as the Predators dropped to 0-3-0 on the road this season. Marek Mazanec stopped 2 of 9 shots in relief, and Colin Wilson scored on the power play in the third period.

"Special teams just swung the pendulum tonight in the wrong direction," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "The short-handed goals and power-play goals are too much for any team."

Ritchie put the Ducks ahead 2:57 into the first period with his second goal of the season. Antoine Vermetteand Michael Sgarbossa had assists on Ritchie's goal. It was Sgarbossa's second career point and first with the Ducks, while Vermette picked up his second point in as many nights.

Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen each added two assists.

The Predators bounced the four-time Pacific Division champion Ducks in the first round of the playoffs last season, a slight that had was not forgotten in the home team's locker room.

"It's a new team, new year, but we know what happened last year and it's still fresh in our minds," Kesler said.

NOTES: Ducks C Ryan Getzlaf and G Jonathan Bernier did not play because of upper-body injuries. Bernier and Getzlaf were hurt in the Ducks' 2-1 overtime loss at San Jose on Tuesday. . Perry recorded his 670th point for the Ducks, passing Paul Kariya for third-most in franchise history.

UP NEXT

Predators: Face Los Angeles on Thursday as their five-game West Coast road trip continues.

Ducks: Host Columbus on Friday, with four more home games sandwiched around a visit to Los Angeles over the next two weeks.

Benoit Pouliot scores twice, Oilers top Capitals 4-1

 The Edmonton Oilers aren't used to this type of start to a season.

Benoit Pouliot scored twice, Cam Talbot made 34 saves and the Oilers stretched their winning streak to four games with a 4-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.

"I think this start is huge for us," Pouliot said after his team improved to 6-1-0. "The last couple of years, we haven't had good starts and it is tough to climb back. Now we are having a good start, and we just have to keep it going."

Patrick Maroon and Milan Lucic also scored for the Oilers, off to their best start since opening 8-1-0 during the 1985-86 season. They have won four of five at Rogers Place, their new downtown arena.

"It's a big win for us," said captain Connor McDavid, who had two assists to give him 11 points this season.

"Tonight was kind of a benchmark for us. ... Tonight was a big test. These guys are a giant in the NHL and we were able to play well and get a win, which is huge for our team."

Alex Ovechkin scored for the Capitals (3-2-1), who have lost two straight in regulation - something that did not happen at all last season.

"We just need a little more push from the whole group," coach Barry Trotz said. "We're going to have to get a little more greasy, get some of those greasy goals.

"Those key moments when we're still in the game, we have to recognize those moments and we're not recognizing those moments right now. We didn't play well enough to win."

The chances were fairly even in a scoreless first period, with the Capitals getting 11 shots on Talbot, and Edmonton directing 10 shots at Washington starter Braden Holtby.

Edmonton was badly outplayed to start the second period, but ended up taking the game's first lead just more than seven minutes in as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins intercepted a pass, danced around defender Dmitry Orlov and put a long shot on net that Pouliot redirected past Holtby.

The Oilers made it 2-0 with 2:52 remaining in the second, as Pouliot scored his third of the season by banking in a shot off Holtby from behind the Washington net.

Things got a bit heated late in the period when Talbot had enough of T.J. Oshie hitting him with his stick in front on a power-play scramble and ended up unleashing a couple punches of his own that led to a roughing minor.

"More or less cross-checking my knee while I was down," Talbot said. "I didn't think that was right so I more or less gave him a shot back and it was even after that."

Washington cut into the lead 9 seconds into the third as Ovechkin slid a puck under Talbot, scoring in his fourth consecutive game.

Edmonton shook off that goal quickly, though, as McDavid set up Jesse Puljujarvi for a glorious opportunity that Maroon finished off a rebound.

The Oilers got some insurance midway through the third when Lucic tipped Andrej Sekera's power-play point shot into the net.

Notes: It was the first of two meetings this season between the Capitals and Oilers. The next time they play is Feb. 24 in Washington. ... Edmonton has had the NHL's first star of the week for the first two weeks of the season, as Talbot followed McDavid in winning the award on Monday.

UP NEXT

Capitals: Washington is at Vancouver on Saturday night, then will close its Western Canada swing with games in Calgary on Sunday night and Winnipeg on Tuesday night.

Oilers: Edmonton is at Vancouver on Friday night.

Brandon Pirri scores twice, Rangers rally to beat Bruins 5-2

 Brandon Pirri is fitting in perfectly in his first season with the New York Rangers.

"I'm glad we're the ones who got him," Derek Stepan said after Pirri scored twice to help the Rangers beat the Boston Bruins 5-2 on Wednesday night. "That's for sure."

Pirri has four goals and two assists in seven games. The left wing signed with the Rangers as a free agent after splitting last season with Florida and Anaheim.

"You guys can all see he can shoot the puck," Stepan said. "He's got a knack for the net. It's not easy to score goals in this league and he seems to be in those areas to score. That's a difficult thing and, to me, that's a skill. If you have it, it's special and it's rare."

Rick Nash, Kevin Hayes and Jimmy Vesey also scored for New York, and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 27 shots. The Rangers won their third straight game, overcoming a 2-0 deficit to improve to 5-2-0.

David Pastrnak and Austin Czarnik scored for Boston. The Bruins have lost three straight to drop to 3-4-0.

"You know you sure are not happy with the outcome," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "We are here to win hockey games and not pat ourselves on the back when we think you deserve it."

Zane McIntyre made 26 saves in his first NHL start. He was called up prior to Boston's 5-0 home loss to Minnesota on Tuesday night to back up Malcolm Subban due to injuries to Tuukka Risk and Anton Khudobin.

"Zane played unbelievable," Boston defenseman Torey Krug said. "He made some big saves for us even when we were down 3-2, 4-2, 5-2. He kept going. He was still coming up with some big saves. It could have been a lot worse. Shame on us for not helping him out more."

Down 2-0 after the first, the Rangers scored three times in the final 10:44 of the second.

Nash began the comeback with a power-play goal at 9:16. He curled to the net before corralling a rebound of Stepan's point shot and flipping it over McIntyre for his third of the season.

Hayes tied it with 3:25 left in the second, banking a shot from behind the net off of McIntyre's pants.

Pirri's power-play goal with 36 seconds left made it 3-2. He ripped a shot from the right circle that was in the net before McIntrye could get his glove up. New York finished the game 2 for 6 on the man advantage, while the Bruins were 0 for 1.

"We worked hard and we drew a lot of penalties," Pirri said. "When you get that many (man advantage) opportunities you have to cash in. It brings a lot of momentum even if you're not scoring but you're generating chances. So that's what we focus on every time and then from there you let the skill take over."

It was not all positive for the Rangers in the second, with Dan Girardi missing two shifts following a hit from Pastrnak, who was assessed a minor penalty for an illegal check to the head. Girardi leaped in the air to play a loose puck in the neutral zone and, as he came down, Pastrnak drove his shoulder into the upper body of the New York defenseman.

Girardi said he "didn't really see him coming until the last second," but noted the hit landed "in the front of the face so it wasn't like a forehead or side of the head" blow. He added he underwent concussion protocol.

Pirri made it 4-2 2:23 into the third with his fourth of the season. Vesey scored on a tap-in 43 seconds later.

The Bruins opened the scoring Pastrnak's fifth of the season 10 seconds into the game. The lead grew to 2-0 14:34 later when Czarnik scored his first goal in the NHL. Czarnik fired a shot from inside the blue line that New York defenseman Brady Skjei blocked, but Henrik Lundqvist appeared to lose track of the puck and it bounced across the goal line.

"We didn't start the way we wanted," New York coach Alain Vigneault said. "We know."

NOTES: Prior to the game, the Bruins announced Czarnik had been called up from Providence of the AHL. Czarnik had a goal and two assists in two games with Providence this season. Czarnik, 23, did play in two NHL games earlier this season with the Bruins. ... Boston also announced RW David Backes had his olecranon bursa removed from his elbow on Monday.... New York lost fourth-line RW Josh Jooris for the game with a separated shoulder and is "out indefinitely," Vigneault said after the game.

UP NEXT:

BRUINS: Play at Detroit Saturday night.

RANGERS: Play at Carolina Friday night.

Weber gives Canadiens 5th straight win, 3-2 over Islanders

 Shea Weber came through with a late goal to get the NHL-leading Montreal Canadiens another big win.

Weber's power-play goal with 2:57 remaining lifted the Canadiens to their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the New York Islanders on Wednesday night. Paul Byron and Phillip Danault also scored to help Montreal improve to 6-0-1 and remain the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss.

"It's still early but we've done some good things so far," Weber said after getting his third goal and ninth point since being acquired in a big offseason trade with Nashville. "Got to keep winning games. It doesn't mean anything if we lose two, three in a row. We got to keep getting better every night."

Al Montoya, who played for the Islanders from 2010-12, stopped 26 shots in his first start since Oct. 18 as the Canadiens beat New York for the seventh straight time.

"We had a slow start. Montoya played well for us, great in the first," Weber said. "We came on maybe in the last five, six minutes of the first, played better after that. He made some big saves at the end of the third before we were able to score on the power play."

John Tavares and Dennis Seidenberg scored for New York and Thomas Greiss had 26 saves in his second straight start and third of the season. The Islanders lost for the second time on a five-game homestand.

With the Islanders' Nick Leddy off for slashing, Weber took a pass from defenseman Jeff Petry and fired a shot from the point for the tiebreaking goal. It was just the second power-play goal in 23 opportunities given up by New York's league-leading penalty-killing unit.

"I knew (Petry) was going to pass it over," Weber said. "It was kind of rolling, so I just wanted to make sure I got good wood on it. I think (Islanders defenseman Travis) Hamonic went down in front of the goal and it just found a way through."

Danault gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead with 8:39 remaining. He deflected the rebound of a shot by Torrey Mitchell past Greiss for his second of the season and sixth of his career.

Seidenberg tied it with 5:44 to go with a one-timer from above the right faceoff circle.

Andrew Shaw had breakaway for Montreal less than a minute later but fired his shot wide of the net.

Alex Galchenyuk nearly gave the Canadiens the lead about 6 minutes into the third, but his shot hit the crossbar.

Montreal came out more aggressive in the second period and outshot New York 12-5. The Canadiens took a 1-0 lead early in the middle period as Brendan Gallagher's wrister from the right side was stopped by Greiss, but the rebound went past New York defenseman Travis Hamonic in front and Byron fired it in at 3:10.

Montreal had another great chance more than a minute later but Greiss made a sprawling save on Artturi Lehkonen.

"Second period (was) probably our worst period of the season," Tavares said. "We responded in the third and gave ourselves a chance and we just didn't get it done."

Tavares tied it for the Islanders with 4:47 left in the second on a power play with Lehkonen off for high-sticking. Nick Leddy fired a point shot from inside the blue line through traffic that bounced off a screened Montoya. Andrew Ladd knocked Alexei Emelin's stick off the puck and Tavares came in and fired it past the Montoya from the right side for his fourth of the season.

New York's Anthony Beauvillier blocked a slap shot from Greg Pateryn on his right leg with about 1:48 left in the middle period and was down for several minutes before being helped off the ice to the dressing room. He returned for the start of the third.

The Islanders controlled the play for most of the scoreless opening period, outshooting the Canadiens 8-6.

NOTES: Montreal's Tomas Plekenec played in his 850th game, two behind Mario Tremblay for 17th place on the franchise list. ... Montreal scratched D Mikhail Sergachev, the No. 9 pick in the June draft, for the third straight game. ... New York F Nikolay Kulemin missed the game due to an upper body injury. He was replaced in the lineup by Mathew Barzal, one of the Islanders' two 19-year-old rookies who played for the second time. ... New York went 3-1-0 on its five-game homestand. After a trip to Pittsburgh to complete a back-to-back, the Islanders will open another stretch of five straight at home on Sunday against Toronto. ... Tavares' goal on the Islanders' lone power play made them 5 for 26 with the man advantage this season.

UP NEXT

Canadiens: Host Tampa Bay on Thursday to complete their first of 15 back-to-backs this season.

Islanders: At defending champion Pittsburgh in their first road game since the opening weekend of the season.