MONTREAL -- Head coach Michel Therrien called Carey Price his "closer," referring to a baseball pitcher whose job it is to preserve a slim advantage late in the game and secure a win. With the Canadiens leading by one to start the third period, Price turned away 16 shots by the Panthers in the final frame to give Montreal a 2-1 victory over Florida on Monday night. The Panthers (16-21-6) outshot Montreal 16-10 in the final frame, but were repeatedly frustrated by Price, who made 26 saves on the night. "The Panthers gave a big push in the third," said Therrien. "Again, Carey Price was solid. He shut the door. There was no way in his mind the Panthers would score another against him. I really liked his reaction. "He played really well. He was like a closer in baseball." Price frustrated 11 different Panthers players in the third period, including four shots by Sean Bergenheim, who was Floridas lone scorer on the night. "We relied on him a little more than we would have liked to in the third," said Brendan Gallagher of Prices 16-save period. "But hes done that all year. Hes there for us when we need him." Before the barrage of shots in final period, the Canadiens (25-14-5) took the lead for good at 15:46 of the second when captain Brian Gionta beat Tim Thomas in the roof of the net. Panthers captain Ed Jovanovski started the play by giving the puck away softly behind the Florida net to Tomas Plekanec, who fed a wide-open Gionta for his seventh goal of the year. Jovanovski was back in the Panthers lineup after undergoing hip surgery last April. He made his season debut on Saturday in a win over the Nashville Predators. "Its his second game since March," said Florida head coach Peter Horachek about Jovanovski, who missed 83 games with the injury. "Its late in the game, he fanned on the pass. That stuff is going to happen sometimes. "I think hes done a good job for the amount of time hes been out. Its a process. I think he would like to have (that pass) back." Montreal opened the score at 6:23 of the first period on the teams first shot on net. David Desharnais took a pass from Max Pacioretty while crossing the blue-line to start the play, fanned on the initial shot, but recovered to score his sixth goal of the year, on the backhand. The fan on the first shot forced Thomas out of position for the second. "I tried staying with the puck, to get any kind of shot I could," said Desharnais. "Usually the goaltender will be well positioned there. He was a little off. I know he wasnt where he was supposed to be. I tried bringing it back on my backhand, and (Thomas) was already on the ground." Montreal gained momentum after the goal, outshooting Florida 9-0 over the next 10 minutes. But it was the Panthers that equalized against the run of play. Bergenheim beat Price at 17:09 with a backhand goal similar to Desharnaiss earlier shot. Rookie Aleksander Barkov had an assist on the goal, his team-leading 15th of the year, to extend his point streak to six games -- the longest point streak by a rookie in Panthers history. Bergenheim almost gave the Panthers the lead a minute later, but his shot rang off the crossbar. The win was Montreals first against Florida this season. The Panthers beat the Habs twice last month -- a 4-1 victory in Florida, and a 2-1 win at the Bell Centre. "We generated a lot of chances, but nothing went in," said Tomas Fleischmann. "We won our last two games against them, and we felt that we could get the points tonight too. "Tonight they were fresh, and you could feel they were a different team than before. We expected that. But it took us a little longer to get adjusted to it. We felt like we could get the points tonight." The Panthers and Canadiens meet for the fourth and final time this season on March 29 in Sunrise, Fla. Notes: Ryan White missed the game due to an upper-body injury sustained on Thursday against the Dallas Stars. He is expected to be out two weeks. a Pacioretty finished the game with nine shots on net. a Hockey Canada will announce its Olympic roster on Tuesday. Montreals Price and defenceman P.K. Subban are expected to make the cut. a The Canadiens head to Philadelphia to face the Flyers on Wednesday. Framber Valdez Jersey . -- Masahiro Tanaka knows that first appearance in a spring training game for the New York Yankees will be scrutinized. Cesar Cedeno Astros Jersey .Y. -- Sore nose and all, Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to help Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 5-3 on Friday night, snapping the Penguins mini-slump and slowing the Sabres late-season surge. https://www.cheapastros.com/1173o-brad-p...sey-astros.html. That still leaves a big hole.You dont replace the leadership, defensive co-ordinator Billy Davis said. You just dont. Leadership is something that is earned over time. Luis Gonzalez Jersey . -- Tony Finau won the Stonebrae Classic on Sunday for his first Web. Brian Hunter Jersey . Josh Bailey had a goal and an assist as the New York Islanders earned a 2-1 win over Ottawa Wednesday, leaving the Senators five points out of a playoff spot with just five games to play and four teams ahead of them.TEMPE, Ariz. -- D.J. Foster ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns, Jaelen Strong had 10 catches for 146 yards, and No. 19 Arizona State opened its season with a 45-14 rout over Weber State on Thursday night. The Sun Devils young defence was sharp in its debut, harassing Weber State quarterback Billy Green and stuffing the Wildcats running game before the starters came out. Arizona States quick-hitting offence overcame a slow start, marching over the Wildcats for 570 total yards. Taylor Kelly threw for 238 yards on 18-of-27 passing, helping the Sun Devils build a 31-0 lead before sitting out the second half. Foster had a pair of short touchdown runs and reeled off a 57-yarder to open the second half in his first game as Arizona States featured back. Zach Smith ran for 128 yards for the Wildcats, including a late 60-yard touchdown in Jay Hills first game as Weber States coach. Arizona States biggest questions entering coach Todd Grahams third season were on the defensive side of the ball. The Sun Devils lost two-time Pac-12 player of the year Will Sutton and linebacker Carl Bradford to the NFL. They had two returning starters, a bunch of underclassmen on the two-deep roster and six players who started their first college game Thursday night. The young guys got off to a jittery start when freshman tackle Tashon Smallwood jumped offside on the first play from scrimmage.dddddddddddd They dominated the rest of the half, limiting Green to short throws underneath in his first career start while holding the Wildcats to 119 yards. Even when they screwed up, the Sun Devils made up for it, stuffing Weber State on a goal-line stand after missing numerous tackles on Smiths 39-yard run. That was the nice surprise for the Sun Devils. The not-so-nice one was start by their offence. Arizona State racked up yards and points the past two seasons, and many of the playmakers are back this season. Instead of racing away from Weber State, the Sun Devils sort of stumbled out of the gate, punting on their first possession and settling for a field goal on their second. Once Arizona State got rolling, so did the expected rout. Kelly showed off his solid connection with Strong, hitting the big wideout for all 10 of his catches in the first half. Gary Chambers caught an 8-yard touchdown pass for his first college reception and Foster appeared comfortable in his new carry-the-load role, scoring on touchdown runs of 1 and 3 yards. Kalen Ballage added a 1-yarder of his own -- also his first career TD -- late in the first half. Foster ended his night with a bumping, spinning 57-yard touchdown run on Arizona States first possession of the second half, putting the Sun Devils up 38-0. ' ' '