RALEIGH, N.C. -- It couldn't have started any worse for Charlie Lindgren in his NHL debut in net for the Montreal Canadiens -- or ended any better.

The 22-year-old Lindgren, who was playing college hockey for St. Cloud State a few weeks ago, allowed a goal on his first NHL shot, but then settled down to stop 26 shots in a 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.

Max Pacioretty scored his 28th goal of the season and added an assist to help the rookie goalie secure his first NHL victory.

"Two weeks ago I was playing for St. Cloud State and now I just got my first NHL win so it's pretty hard to believe," Lindgren said. "This is something you dream about going back to when I was a little kid. This is the best league in the world. I don't think it has fully sunk in yet. It is pretty incredible."

Lindgren's parents, little brother, and girlfriend were in the stands at PNC Arena cheering him on, as was his goaltending coach. His grandfather was unable to make the trip, but will get the puck from Lindgren's first professional win.

"My grandfather has been there since day one for me," Lindgren said.

It was only the 16th road win for a Montreal team that started 19-4-2 but slumped badly when All-Star goalie Carey Price was injured and will join the rest of the Canadian NHL teams on the sidelines when the postseason begins next week.

The game between two non-playoff teams was staged without a penalty being called until 3:48 was left, but Carolina's lone power play came too late -- 13 seconds after Lars Eller had given Montreal a two-goal lead with his 13th of the season. Lindgren made some of his best saves down the stretch to keep the Hurricanes at bay.

"There were definitely some nerves there; I'm not going to lie about it," Lindgren said. "I (was) just trying to be as calm as possible. Once that first goal went in I really wasn't rattled at all. I tried to put it behind me and worry about the next shot."

"He had some big saves late and that shows the mentality and the type of player he is," Pacioretty said. "It was impressive he was able to settle down and play a very strong game to finish it."

Carolina (35-30-16) took a 2-1 lead early in the second when rookie defenseman Noah Hanifin beat Lindgren, who was screened by his own defenseman, for his fourth of the season. Then the Canadiens (37-38-6) struck twice in a span of 3:39 to take control.

Pacioretty reached the 60-point plateau for the third straight season when he beat Cam Ward, who is an unrestricted free agent and may have played his last home game with Carolina, with 6:48 left in the period with a high shot that bounced off the goalie's blocker and hopped over his shoulder into the net.

A turnover in Carolina's offensive zone less than four minutes later led to a Montreal rush in which rookie Daniel Carr scoring his sixth in 22 games with an easy tap. The initial shot from Tomas Plekanec ricocheted off defenseman Brett Pesce's skate right to a wide open Carr and Ward had no chance.

Lindgren surrendered his first goal as Riley Nash took a pass in the slot from Jeff Skinner and beat the Montreal goalie on the blocker side for his ninth of the season.

"It was hard to believe," Lindgren said. "That's definitely not what you want to happen, but all that matters is what happens after 60 (minutes)."

The Canadiens hit the post twice later in the period before defenseman Darren Dietz skated in from the point unchecked and blasted his first goal past Ward with 9.9 seconds left in the period. The former fifth-round draft pick from 2011 scored in his 12th career game.

Carolina has lost its last three regular season finales at home.

"I thought we made it hard on ourselves and turned the puck over a lot," said Hurricanes coach Bill Peters. "And Montreal's defense was tight."

NOTES: With All-Star G Carey Price lost for the season, Charlie Lindgren became Montreal's fifth starting goaltender this season. ... The last time Carolina finished more than six games above .500 was the 2010-11 season. ... More than 53 percent of Carolina's goals this season have been scored by players 24 years old or younger. ... Montreal's 330 man-games lost are its most since losing 439 during the 2011-12 season. ... Hurricanes C Jordan Staal is looking to play in all 82 games for the fifth time in his 10-year NHL career. ... Carolina C Derek Ryan was recalled from AHL Charlotte for the fourth time since March 1.