NEW YORK — Devante Smith-Pelly stepped into a top-six role and scored two goals to lead the Canadiens to a 5-1 win over the New York Rangers Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Carey Price was credited with the victory, but there was renewed concern about his health after he was replaced by Mike Condon to start the third period.
Putting it away: The Canadiens came out strong in the third period and scored twice in the first 1:29 to take a commanding 4-1 lead. The Canadiens took advantage of a turnover by Ryan McDonagh and Tomas Plekanec found Smith-Pelly cutting to the net and he scored on a backhander at the 17-second mark. Alex Galchenyuk picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and beat Henrik Lundqvist from a sharp angle at 1:29. Lundqvist was replaced by Antti Raanta after Max Pacioretty scored on a power play at 9:06 for a 5-1 lead. Lundqvist gave up five goals on 24 shots. Galchenyuk found Pacioretty in front while Plekanec earned his third assist of the night.
Good start for Andrighetto: Sven Andrighetto, who was playing his second game after being called up from St. John’s, gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead when he scored at 4:45 of the first period. Keith Yandle blocked a shot by Lars Eller but Andrighetto was in front to beat Lundqvist with a backhander.
DSP pays dividend: Smith-Pelly was back in the lineup after missing one game with a lower-body injury and he replaced Brendan Gallagher on the top line. He gave the Canadiens a 2-0 lead when he slid into the slot and converted a pass from Max Pacioretty at 2:25 of the second period. Plekanec also picked up an assist on the goal.
Action from the Montreal Canadiens vs. N.Y. Rangers NHL game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Wednesday Nov. 25, 2015.
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Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers makes the first period save on Dale Weise #22 of the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers makes the first period save on Dale Weise #22 of the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers makes the first period save on Dale Weise #22 of the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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Canadiens' Carey Price makes a first-period save against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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Sven Andrighetto #42 of the Montreal Canadiens (l) celebrates his goal at 4:45 of the first period along with Alex Galchenyuk #27 (r) against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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Sven Andrighetto #42 of the Montreal Canadiens (l) celebrates his goal at 4:45 of the first period along with Alex Galchenyuk #27 (r) against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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Alexander Semin #13 of the Montreal Canadiens is checked by Marc Staal #18 of the New York Rangers during the first period at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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David Desharnais #51 of the Montreal Canadiens skates in on Chris Kreider #20 and Derek Stepan #21 of the New York Rangers during the first period at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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Montreal Canadiens right wing Sven Andrighetto (42) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the New York Rangers during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, in New York.Julie Jacobson / AP
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Sven Andrighetto #42 of the Montreal Canadiens (l) scores at 4:45 of the first period against Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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New York Rangers center J.T. Miller (10) and right wing Jesper Fast vie battle for the puck against Montreal Canadiens centre Alex Galchenyuk (27) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, in New York.Julie Jacobson / AP
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Montreal Canadiens centre Alex Galchenyuk (27) passes off the puck against the New York Rangers during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, in New York.Julie Jacobson / AP
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Oscar Lindberg #24 of the New York Rangers runs into Tom Gilbert #77 of the Montreal Canadiens during the second period at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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Devante Smith-Pelly #21 of the Montreal Canadiens (l) celebrates his second period goal against the New York Rangers along with Max Pacioretty #67 (c) and P.K. Subban #76 (r) at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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Ryan McDonagh #27 of the New York Rangers celebrates his power-play goal at 17:42 of the second period against the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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Mats Zuccarello #36 celebrates a power-play goal by Ryan McDonagh #27 of the New York Rangers at 17:42 of the second period against Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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Montreal Canadiens right wing Devante Smith-Pelly (21) is greeted by teammates after he scored a goal against the New York Rangers during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, in New York.Julie Jacobson / AP
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Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price (31) blocks a shot attempt by New York Rangers center Oscar Lindberg (24) as Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (76) looks for the rebound during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, in New York.Julie Jacobson / AP
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Canadiens' Devante Smith-Pelly of the celebrates his second goal of the game against the Rangers at 17 seconds of the third period at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City. The Canadiens defeated the Rangers 5-1.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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Alex Galchenyuk #27 and Max Pacioretty #67 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrate a third period goal by Pacioretty against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City. The Canadiens defeated the Rangers 5-1.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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Derek Stepan #21 of the New York Rangers and David Desharnais #51 of the Montreal Canadiens battle off the faceoff during the third period at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City. The Canadiens defeated the Rangers 5-1.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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Antti Raanta #32 of the New York Rangers makes the third period save against the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2015 in New York City. The Canadiens defeated the Rangers 5-1.Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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Montreal Canadiens centre Alex Galchenyuk (27) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the New York Rangers during the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, in New York. The Canadiens won 5-1.Julie Jacobson / AP
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Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty (67) scores against New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, in New York. The Canadiens won 5-1.Julie Jacobson / AP
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New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist stands in front of the net after the Montreal Canadiens scored a goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, in New York. The Canadiens won 5-1.Julie Jacobson / AP
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New York Rangers center Oscar Lindberg (24) and right wing Jesper Fast (19) try to clear the puck as Montreal Canadiens center David Desharnais (51) and right wing Dale Weise (22) look to score on a rebound against Rangers goalie Antti Raanta, left, during the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, in New York. The Canadiens won 5-1.Julie Jacobson / AP
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Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price (31) blocks a shot by New York Rangers right wing Kevin Hayes (13) as Canadiens defenceman Andrei Markov (79) looks for a rebound during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, in New York. The Canadiens won 5-1.Julie Jacobson / AP
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Montreal Canadiens goalie Mike Condon (39) greets centre Alex Galchenyuk (27) after the Canadiens defeated the New York Rangers 5-1 in an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, in New York.Julie Jacobson / AP
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The one that got away: McDonagh, who was a Canadiens’ prospect before Bob Gainey gave him away in the Scott Gomez trade, helped end Price’s shutout bid when he assited on Rick Nash’s power-play goal at 17:42 of the second period. Price had to deal with traffic in front of the net and was screened on the play. He left the game after stopping 22 of 23 shots. The Rangers went 0-for-4 on the power play.
Canadiens are No. 1: The win gave Montreal a 17-4-2 record, good for 36 points, the most in the NHL. The Canadiens are two points ahead of the Rangers and the Dallas Stars but both rivals have played one fewer game.
Emelin returns: Defenceman Alexei Emelin was back after a five-game absence and found himself playing on the third pair with Tom Gilbert when Michel Therrien was reluctant to separate Jeff Petry and Nathan Beaulieu.
What’s next: The Canadiens close out the week with a pair of games against the New Jersey Devils. They will meet Friday night at the Prudential Center in Newark (7 p.m., Sportsnet East, RDS, TSN-690 Radio) with the rematch Saturday at the Bell Centre.
