RALEIGH, N.C. -- Maintaining the level of play that put the Carolina Hurricanes in a good holiday mood was important when the team returned to the ice Wednesday night.

That aim was achieved on several fronts, particularly with a strong third period.

Sebastian Aho, the third member of the Hurricanes to put a shot on goal in a five-second sequence, scored the winning goal in a 3-1 victory against the Montreal Canadiens at PNC Arena.

"Guys obviously took care of themselves over the break, and we are ready to pounce," Carolina goalie Cam Ward said.

Aho's go-ahead power-play goal came with 10:45 remaining. He added an empty-netter with 1:24 to play, giving him 10 goals this season.

Teuvo Teravainen opened the scoring for the Hurricanes (17-12-7), who have won six of their past seven games.

Ward, who made a third consecutive start for the first time this season, was credited with 23 saves. He looked sharp as he improved his record to 9-2-1 this season.

"We didn't give up much, but when we did, (Ward's performance) was big," said Carolina coach Bill Peters, whose team has its second three-game winning streak this month.

The Hurricanes produced a strong third period after the Canadiens put together good second-period stretches.

"I like our finish, giving up five shots in the third in a tie game," Peters said. "It's tough coming out of the break. You never know what you're going to get, so I liked our start."

The grit was evident as well, with Peters acknowledging that center Joakim Nordstrom going to the ice to block a shot with a two-goal lead with about 15 seconds remaining was an example of that.

Before that, Aho's determination near the net was enough to give the Hurricanes the lead. It came when the Hurricanes peppered Montreal goalie Carey Price with shots.

"Their goalie made two big saves, but we were tenacious on the puck," said Carolina center Jordan Staal, who received the secondary assist for taking the first shot during the sequence.

Alex Galchenyuk scored for Montreal (16-17-4), which began a stretch of three road games in four nights.

"I think we can do a lot better," Canadiens coach Claude Julien said. "I think it's a matter of how much you want to throw pucks to the net, how much you want to go there and make those things happen. We need to get better in that area, there's no doubt about it."

Price made 33 stops as his two-game winning streak ended.

"Carey Price kept us in (it) in the first period when we needed a goaltender to keep us in," Julien said. "Gave us a chance right until the end there to at least try and win ourselves a hockey game."

The Hurricanes have four power-play goals in a three-game stretch after a 1-for-22 span with an extra skater.

"I think we had a chance on our first (power play)," Aho said, indicating that converting the next time was critical.

At 3:44 of the first period, Teravainen scored for the first time in 17 games as the Hurricanes scored first for the 10th time in their past 13 games.

The tally kept Carolina on pace as it was the 36th first-period goal in 36 games.

Galchenyuk put the Canadiens on the board by breaking containment and sending a wrister past Ward 5:19 into the second period.

Ward provided the first period's biggest stop by denying Max Pacioretty on a short-handed attempt.

The Canadiens dropped to 2-3-0 on what will be a seven-game road stretch spanning the holiday break.

"We've got to learn to win those tight games or at least come out with a point," Julien said.

NOTES: The Canadiens traveled Wednesday morning to Raleigh for the game. ... Hurricanes C Jordan Staal skated in his 800th NHL game. ... D David Schlemko and C Byron Froese were out of the Montreal lineup amid reports that the flu struck some players. ... D Haydn Fleury and RW Josh Jooris were healthy scratches for the Hurricanes for the third game in a row. ... Montreal plays Thursday night at Tampa Bay as part of a two-game trip to the state of Florida. ... The Hurricanes wrap up their three-game homestand Friday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.