Danault (4 points) helps Canadiens survive Rangers
MONTREAL -- The Montreal Canadiens made quick work of the New York Rangers on Saturday night, laying a field goal on the Blueshirts in the first period.
New York rallied, though, managing to beat Carey Price four times before ultimately falling to the Canadiens 5-4.
Montreal's Phillip Danault had his first career four-point night, recording two goals -- including the game-winner with 10:23 remaining -- and two assists. Paul Byron, Alex Galchenyuk and Max Pacioretty also scored for the Canadiens (3-7-1).
Ondrej Pavelec, who got his second consecutive start for the Rangers, made 38 saves while seeing his record at the Bell Centre fall to 0-7.
Pavel Buchnevich, Rick Nash, Mika Zibanejad and defenseman Brady Skjei scored for New York (3-7-2).
The Canadiens had two scoring opportunities in the first 30 seconds of the first period, forcing Pavelec to make two quick saves.
After spending most of the first half of the first period in the Rangers' zone, Byron fired the puck high on Pavelec from the slot to score his third goal of the season and give Montreal a 1-0 lead.
The Rangers' Mats Zuccarello took the first penalty after giving Brendan Gallagher a tap after the whistle. With the extra attacker on the ice and defenseman Brendan Smith down with an injury behind the net, Gallagher put the puck on the doorstep, where Galchenyuk was waiting to score his third power-play goal of the season to make is 2-0.
Danault scored on a rebound off Andrew Shaw's shot with 6:45 remaining in the first left to give Montreal a 3-0 lead.
New York rallied to tie the game 4-4 when Skjei scored at seven minutes of the third period on a shot that bounced off the Canadiens' Tomas Plekanec, and tying the game for the Rangers.
Danault tapped in Brandon Davidson's rebound 2:37 later for his third goal of the season.
NOTES: Rangers C David Desharnais, an ex-Canadien, came into the Bell Centre with the league's second-best faceoff winning percentage at 62.7 percent. ... Canadiens LW Charles Hudon has 35 shots on goal this season, but is still looking for his first NHL goal. ... Montreal C Torrey Mitchell was back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for four straight games. ... RW Nikita Scherbak, who sustained a lower-body injury Thursday against the Kings, did not play and coach Claude Julien said he is day-to-day.