A slow start for the Ottawa Senators doomed their efforts to get back in a tie with the Montreal Canadiens for the top spot in the Atlantic Division Sunday night.
The Habs built a 2-1 lead in the first period and then smothered the Sens in a 4-1 final.
Tomas Plekanec, Jordie Benn, Paul Byron and Nathan Beaulieu all scored for the Canadiens in the win.
Montreal now is now four points clear of the Senators for the division lead.
Carey Price made 30 saves to pick up the win the Habs as Montreal improved to 41-23-8.
“I just think we’ve responded well,” Price said. “Sometimes you just need a shake-up, a wake-up call, and I think that’s what that was.”
Tom Pyatt was the lone striker for the Sens.
“We were off, but I think they came out real strong,” Ottawa head coach Guy Boucher said. “They got the goal, but we fought back, we battled right back. At 1-1, it was a pretty even game. Even at 2-1, we were fine at that point. But in the second period, I could feel it. Legs were starting to go. The other team was taking over. They 100 percent deserve the game.”
WATCH: All Senators vs. Canadiens highlights
Craig Anderson made 33 stops in the loss as Ottawa dropped to 39-24-8 with their second loss in as many nights to Montreal.
“It was one of those games they were better than us, we’ve got to admit it,” Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. But I still think we’re a really good team, we believe in ourselves, and we have no issues whatsoever with what’s going on right now.”
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