Andrew Ladd lifts Islanders past Canadiens

NEW YORK -- Andrew Ladd scored two goals and Thomas Greiss made 21 saves to help the New York Islanders to a 3-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Barclays Center on Thursday.
Ladd, who had gone six straight games without a goal, scored once in the first period and again in the third to help New York (21-17-9) extend its point streak to six games (5-0-1).
Josh Bailey also scored for the Islanders, who are 4-0-1 since Doug Weight replaced Jack Capuano as coach on Jan. 17.

"I think he's brought some emotion and excitement each and every night," Ladd said of Weight. "He's a personal guy who can instill confidence in you and likes to be personable around the group, so I think that's a big part of it. I think he believes in this group. He's kind of known since the start of the year that we have what it takes in here to play good hockey and be one of the top teams. He's just kind of instilled that in us since he took over."
WATCH: All Canadiens vs. Islanders highlights
Shea Weber scored and Carey Price made 39 saves for Montreal (29-14-7), which hasn't won consecutive games since it opened the calendar year with a three-game streak.
"This was a tough night for us," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. "We had nothing. But you've got to give a lot of credit to the Islanders; they played a real solid game. Carey was outstanding. If it was not for him, the game would not have been that close."
Ladd gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead with 6:53 left in the first period when he took a pass from Calvin de Haan and beat Price between the legs with a wrist shot from the right circle.
New York outshot Montreal 14-4 in the period.
"They're all playing well right now," Weight said. "They're confident, they're reliable. I'm matching some lines, but I'm finding myself not worrying too much if I don't get a matchup. They're just really playing well."

The Canadiens tied it 1-1 when Weber scored a power-play goal at 14:09 of the second period. With Dennis Seidenberg serving a hooking penalty, Weber unleashed a slap shot that hit Greiss' glove and trickled over the goal line. It was Weber's 12th of the season.
Ladd put the Islanders back in front 2-1 with his second of the game during a 4-on-4 situation with 12:40 remaining, and Bailey made it 3-1 with a power-play goal at 15:13 when he beat Price with a slap shot from the slot.
"At the end of the day, we still had a chance to win a road game," Montreal captain Max Pacioretty said. "We wanted to give us some momentum going into the break, and we fell short. We don't like the way it played out, so we have something to think about now over break and come back better."
It was the last game for each team prior to the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend.

Goal of the game

Ladd scored what proved to be the game-winning goal when he took a pass from John Tavares and quickly released a wrist shot from the right circle that beat Price high for his 10th goal of the season.

Save of the game

Greiss preserved New York's 1-0 lead when he slid across the crease to stop Pacioretty's wrist shot from the right circle with 11:40 left in the second period.

Highlight of the game

Price made a brilliant glove save against Tavares 9:24 into the game, snatching the Islanders captain's snap shot from the left circle with his glove.

Unsung performance of the game

Not only did de Haan get the primary assist on Ladd's first goal, he also blocked five shots in 21:29 of ice time (including 2:35 shorthanded) and was plus-1.

They said it

"It feels like there's a little bit of extra life in the room right now, and it feels like it's fun to come to the rink again. We're not in a funk, we're not last in the League, we're playing some good hockey. Winning usually solves everything, so it's been a good time." -- Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan
"You know what an 82-game season is. I don't think we lose sight of that. As poorly and as disappointing as some points of the season have been, we're not just going to give up and hang our heads. We believe in our team and each other, and we just want to keep the process of getting better and push each other and find a way to break through." -- Islanders captain John Tavares

Need to know

The Canadiens acquired defenseman Nikita Nesterov from the Tampa Bay Lightning before the game in a trade for defenseman prospect Jonathan Racine and a sixth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. … Islanders right wing Cal Clutterbuck left the game late in the second period because of a lower-body injury and did not return. He is day to day. … Greiss has allowed six goals in his past five starts.

What's next

Canadiens: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; SNE, RDS, MSG-B, NHL.TV)
Islanders: Host the Washington Capitals on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, CSN-DC+, NHL.TV)