Price makes 31 saves, Canadiens end Flames' five-game winning streak

MONTREAL --Carey Price made 31 saves, and the Montreal Canadiens ended the Calgary Flames' five-game winning streak with a 2-0 victory at Bell Centre on Monday.

Price's shutout was his second this season and 46th in the NHL, tying Ken Dryden for third in Canadiens history.
"That's another pretty cool milestone," said Price, Montreal's leader in wins (339) and games played by a goalie (662). "I'm just looking forward to the next one."
WATCH: [All Flames vs. Canadiens highlights]
George Hainsworth holds the Canadiens record with 75 shutouts; Jacques Plante is second with 58.
"I think everyone knows it; Carey has a special place in the history of this organization," Montreal defenseman Ben Chiarot said. "He's not just one of the best goalies, he's one of the best players that's played in the NHL and played for the Montreal Canadiens. He's done a lot of special things in this city, and tonight is just another example of that."
Ryan Poehling scored his first of the season for Montreal (20-20-7), which has won consecutive games after going 0-7-1 in its previous eight.

David Rittich made 35 saves for Calgary (25-18-5), which outshot the Canadiens 15-5 in the third period.
"They pushed us in the first two periods and we answered in the third, but it wasn't enough," Rittich said. "That streak is [over], but we've got an opportunity Thursday to start a new one."
Jordan Weal gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead with his fifth goal at 13:30 of the first period. After Jeff Petry lost control on a wraparound attempt, Weal collected the loose puck, spun and shot between Rittich's pads.
"I saw him coming for the wraparound and I just tried to get to the net," Weal said. "That's where a lot of things are happening right now, and the coaching staff just brought it to our attention that we just need to get to the net a little more. I saw he was going for the wraparound; he likes that play and he's got great speed and can make that play, and the puck just popped out to me."

Poehling made it 2-0 at 9:45 of the third period following a face-off win. It was his first point in 20 games this season since he scored a hat trick in his NHL debut in the Canadiens' final game last season.
"It was a big reliever for myself, I think, but even more importantly it was perfect timing," Poehling said. "We had a one-goal game, and I think it was big to extend that and give the guys a breather and kind of play the right way to close out that game."

They said it

"We've got to be prepared to play; I thought we weren't. We got outbattled, outraced, outcompeted, outworked, right from the very opening face-off. And it took us a long time to start to try to claw our way back into the hockey game. But we were flat tonight, and this time of year you can't be." -- Flames coach Geoff Ward
"First of all, Carey gave us a good chance to win. He made some huge saves for us. We limited their chances for the most part, didn't give them anything too glaring or dangerous. I thought it was a good win by us." -- Canadiens defenseman Ben Chiarot

Need to know

Flames goalie Cam Talbot was named NHL Third Star of the Week on Monday after going 3-0-0 with a 1.67 goals-against average and .953 save percentage in three consecutive starts. … Canadiens forward Dale Weise's assist on Weal's goal was his first point in six games this season, and his first in 24 NHL games since he scored for the Philadelphia Flyers in a 6-5 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 27, 2018.

What's next

Flames: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, SNW, NHL.TV)
Canadiens: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; SN, RDS, NBCSCH, NHL.TV)