Canadiens outlast Senators 4-3

Montreal: Alex Galchenyuk and Lars Eller scored shootout goals, and the Montreal Canadiens won their fourth straight by beating the Ottawa Senators 4-3 on Wednesday night.

Eller also scored in the first period and Brendan Gallagher and P.K. Subban added power-play goals in the second for Montreal (18-5-4), which played loosely in its first home game after a five-game trip. Carey Price made 29 saves.

Mika Zibanejad and Daniel Alfredsson had power-play goals for Ottawa (13-8-6), and Patrick Wiercioch also scored for the Senators, who are 1-2-4 in their last seven.

Ottawa goalie Robin Lehner was sharp in the third period when Montreal had three power plays and stretched its shots advantage to 45-32.

Both teams earned two wins in the four-game season series.

Galchenyuk scored on a deke, and Eller used a drag move in the shootout. Jakob Silfverberg had the only goal in the tiebreaker for the Senators.

Wiercioch, a rookie defenceman, scored his third goal in five games to tie it 3-3. Wiercioch had no goals in his first 26 NHL games.

With a goal and an assist, Subban has points on Montreal’s last nine power-play goals.

The Canadiens opened the scoring as recent call-up Gabriel Dumont earned his first NHL point as he worked the puck from behind the net to Eller, who lifted it over Lehner at 7:02 of the first period.

An Ottawa power play was nearly over when Silfverberg made a crisp pass from a crowd in the corner to Zibanejad, who beat Price with a quick wrist shot to tie it at 10:26.

Max Pacioretty skated in off the boards and slipped a shot between Lehner’s pads 6:40 into the second, and Subban scored from the point on a shot that hit Ottawa defenceman Chris Phillips in front at 17:21.

Time was about to expire in the second period when Alfredsson aimed a shot over Price’s shoulder that hit the camera inside the net and bounced out. Video replay confirmed the goal at 19:58.

Wiercioch tied it 1:50 into the third when he moved across the blue line, put a move on Andrei Markov and scored on a wrist shot from the slot that beat Price between the legs.