Price wins 9th straight on road, Canadiens top Blues 5-2

St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen watches as Montreal Canadiens' Max Pacioretty skates in with the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, in St. Louis.
St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen watches as Montreal Canadiens' Max Pacioretty skates in with the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, in St. Louis.

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher had two goals apiece and Carey Price set a franchise record with his ninth straight road win for the Montreal Canadiens, who beat the St. Louis Blues 5-2 Tuesday night.

Montreal held onto the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

David Backes and T.J. Oshie scored for the Blues, who wrapped up a 1-3 homestand. St. Louis is among the Western Conference leaders with 78 points, but has surrendered the first goal in eight consecutive home games.

Price made 27 saves and topped the record he'd shared with Rogie Vachon (1968-69). He has allowed more than two goals just once in his last 15 games.

The Canadiens have won nine of 10 on the road overall and have 83 points, staying a point ahead of the Islanders for first in the East.

Montreal took control with three goals in the second period, the last two in a span of 48 seconds by Gallagher and Michael Bournival to make it 4-1. Gallagher scored unassisted on a 2-on-1 break after Vladimir Tarasenko missed connections with defenseman Jay Bouwmeester on a drop pass. Bournival scored on a break-in coming out of the penalty box.

The Blues surrendered the first goal for the eighth straight game when Galchenyuk deflected P.K. Subban's point shot. They haven't led after the first period for nine in a row at home since Jan. 17, when they were up 1-0 against Toronto.

Galchenyuk made it 2-0 when he beat Jake Allen to the short side 3:11 into the middle period. He has 18 goals, including a hat trick and a pair of two-goal games - both this month.

St. Louis cut the gap to one on pinpoint passing by Oshie, Tarasenko and Backes, who got his 20th goal on a tip-in. The goal came six seconds after Subban's holding penalty expired.

Oshie scored from the point late in the second and Gallagher scored on a slap shot from the point on a power play late in the third period.

Notes: Subban and Andrei Markov had two assists apiece for Montreal. ... Bournival has three goals, the other two coming Jan. 2 at New Jersey. ... Galchenyuk missed the previous two games with flu-like symptoms. ... In the last 11 home games, St. Louis has been outscored 11-3 in the first period. ... Standing room attendance of 19,383 was the Blues' 14th sellout. ... Montreal acquired forward Devante Smith-Pelly from Anaheim on Tuesday for rookie F Jiri Sekac.

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