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EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Montreal Canadiens knew that if they kept getting shots on net, they'd break through against the Edmonton Oilers.
Paul Byron scored twice and added an assist in the Canadiens' 4-1 victory over Sunday night, with all four of the goals coming in a six-minute span late in the game.
"We just stuck with it," Byron said. "It was a matter of time, and we got some great bounces at the end."
Max Pacioretty also scored twice, and Carey Price made 24 saves. The Canadiens have won seven of their last eight.
"We get to go home with three wins out of four games on this trip ... with everything we've had to face," Montreal coach Claude Julien said. "With the flu going around the team and everything else, we're pretty happy with the road trip."
Milan Lucic scored for the Oilers. They have dropped three in a row.
"We're still in the thick of things. We can't dwell on losses, we just have to keep moving forward," Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "At the start of the year is you asked us if we'd be in this spot. I'd take it after five years of not even being close. It's going to be intense coming down the stretch here, but it's going to be a lot of fun. We have to relish it. We can't worry about what other teams are doing. If we win, we're going to get in. Our fate is in our own hands now."
Montreal had the bulk of its chances in the scoreless first period, putting 15 shots on Oilers goalie Cam Talbot against six Oilers shots on Price, who returned after sitting out in Calgary because of the flu.
Lucic outmuscled Alexei Emelin for the puck and beat Price with a long shot for his 15th of the season four minutes into the second.
The Oilers almost added to their lead midway through the third, but Price made a huge save on a point-blank shot by Patrick Maroon.
Byron picked the puck up in front and sent it under Talbot for his 17th of the season with 6:27 left in the third to tie it. Just over a minute later,
Just over a minute later, a puck went in off of defender Oscar Klefbom's stick and was eventually credited to Pacioretty, after originally being given to Alex Galchenyuk.
Byron and Pacioretty added empty-net goals, with Pacioretty pushing his season total to 33.
Notes: It was the second and final meeting of the season between the teams. Edmonton won 1-0 in a shootout Feb. 5 in Montreal. ... Montreal forward Alexander Radulov returned after missing the three games with a lower-body injury. Center Tomas Plekanec remained out with an upper-body injury. ... Talbot made his NHL-high 61st start in the Edmonton net.
UP NEXT:
Canadiens: Host Chicago on Tuesday night.
Oilers: Host Dallas on Tuesday night in the fifth game of an eight-game homestand.
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