It was Smith's first shutout in 34 starts dating to Oct. 20, 2019, when he made 23 saves in a 1-0 shootout loss at the Winnipeg Jets.
He made 28 saves in his season debut Monday, a 3-1 win that began Edmonton's two-game sweep at the Ottawa Senators, completed when Mikko Koskinen made 40 saves in a 3-2 victory Tuesday.
"The first two games have gone really well for me," said Smith, who sustained an undisclosed injury Jan. 13 during warmups prior to the season opener against the Vancouver Canucks. "I felt like I was prepared for these games, and obviously when you're prepared and you feel like you're prepared, usually things go your way."
The Canadiens have lost their past three home games, including 4-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
"It's pretty clear that we're not playing our best hockey," Montreal coach Claude Julien said. "We're forcing things. I know the guys want to do things right, but we're making a lot of little mistakes and we're forcing plays, forcing situations. And we know we can do more. For example, we weren't taking shots from the slot. Our shots were coming from outside, and we've got to find a way to get in between the dots. And I don't think we did a good job of that tonight."
Jujhar Khaira gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 8:27 of the first period when he scored short side from the left face-off circle off.
"Everybody wants to chip in," Khaira said. "Guys that are on the third, fourth line, they're not going in thinking they're not going to score. They're trying to produce as well. And if anything, we just kind of take some pressure off the top guys that produce day in and day out. So when we chip in, I think it's big for the team from top to bottom."
Darnell Nurse got credit for his sixth goal at 1:27 of the second period. Jake Allen made the save on Nurse's shot, but Shea Weber's clearing attempt hit Phillip Danault's skate and went in off Weber's stick to put Edmonton up 2-0.
Tyson Barrie made it 3-0 at 4:44 of the third period with a power-play goal on a one-timer from the point off a pass from Leon Draisaitl.
"The puck's not going in as easy for us, and teams are a little more excited to come in and play us," Canadiens defenseman Ben Chiarot said. "You know, there's going to be ups and downs in this season. It's just you have to grind through them."
The start of the game was delayed one hour to accommodate COVID-19 testing. Oilers forward Jesse Puljujarvi was added to the NHL COVID-19 protocol.
Goalie Dylan Wells was recalled from Edmonton's taxi squad on an emergency basis and backed up Smith instead of Koskinen.
"It's strange, but it's something we've been preparing for, something that could happen," Khaira said. "Everybody knows that, and for all of us, it was still a game day. We were focused right when we got up and just went through the day, and we got ready for the game like usual."
