Flyers control Canadiens in 3-1 win
PHILADELPHIA -- Someday, Matt Read will tell his grandchildren about the night he teed up a slap shot that cleanly beat one of the best goaltenders in the world.
On Thursday night, he was more interested in the fact the Flyers rebounded from one of their worst performances of the year with a 3-1 win over Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens.
Read scored the winning goal 3:32 into the third period and Flyers goaltender Michal Neuvirth turned away 15 of the 16 shots he faced to pick up his eighth win of the season (8-4-0) and his second in three games.
Neuvirth's biggest stop came seven minutes into the third period when he stopped a point-blank shot by Canadiens forward Paul Byron.
Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier also scored for the Flyers (26-20-6), who battled back from an early 1-0 deficit to win for the fourth time in five games and erase the memories of Tuesday night's 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh.
Defenseman Nikita Nesterov scored the only goal for the Canadiens, whose 16 shots were their lowest since they took 17 shots in a 5-4 over Philadelphia on Nov. 5.
The Canadiens (30-15-7) lost for the second time in three games and for the fifth time in eight games (3-4-1).
Read's game-winner was his seventh goal of the season and his first in 27 games. His first game-winning goal of the season came off a line rush after crisp passes from linemates Nick Cousins and Sean Couturier. Read buried the shot high over Price's blocker.
Couturier finished off the Canadiens with an empty netter, his ninth goal of the season, with 14 seconds remaining.
Acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning one week earlier, Nesterov netted his fourth goal of the season in his second game with the Canadiens to give the Habs a 1-0 lead just 4:51 into the game.
Center Alex Galchenyuk, who sat out the previous three games with a knee injury, helped set up the goal, sliding a blue line pass to Nesterov for a one-timer.
Nesterov's blast sailed through an unintentional screen by Flyers defenseman Brandon Manning and over Neuvirth's catching glove. It was Nesterov's fourth goal of the season and his first with the Canadien.
The Flyers took the next 10 shots in the first period but did not pull even until Giroux scored with 2:10 remaining in the second period on Philadelphia's second power play of the night.
With Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw in the box for interference, Giroux won a faceoff and positioned himself in the left circle for a snap shot that caromed off Price's catching glove and into the net for Giroux's 12th goal of the season.
NOTES: Flyers second-year D Shayne Gostisbehere and rookie F Travis Konecny were healthy scratches. Gostisbehere has gone 27 games without a goal and is a team-worst minus-19. He was replaced in the lineup by D Nick Schultz. Konecny, who has gone seven games without a goal, was a minus-2 in Tuesday night's 5-1 loss at Carolina. He was replaced by Dale Weise. ... Montreal C Alex Galchenyuk returned to the lineup after missing three games with a knee injury. He missed 18 games earlier this season with an injury to the same knee. He played on a line with David Desharnais and Andrew Shaw. D Jeff Petry also returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday night's game with an illness. ... The Flyers honored their former captains before the game, including one representing four decades: original captain Lou Angotti (1960s), Bob Clarke (1970s), Dave Poulin (1980s), Eric Lindros (1990s) and Chris Pronger (2000s). ... The Canadiens return home to face the Washington Capitals on Saturday, followed by a home game against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. The Flyers continue their five-game homestand on Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings.