PHILADELPHIA -- It took just two mighty shots from rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, and just like that, the Philadelphia offense awoke in the Flyers' 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center.

In a mere sequence of four minutes and 52 seconds of the second period, Gostisbehere blasted two shots from the point resulting in a goal and an assist to help flip a tie into a comfortable 3-1 lead and eventually Philadelphia's first victory since Dec. 21.

"We had a tough West Coast trip -- we didn't really play our hockey," Gostisbehere said. "But we got back to it tonight."

After dropping three in a row -- all on the road while being outscored 10-5 -- the Flyers (16-15-7) received multi-point efforts from centers Brayden Schenn (one goal, two assists) and Sean Couturier (one goal, one assist), as well as Gostisbehere (one goal, one assist).

Philadelphia entered with the second-fewest goals in the NHL at 78.

"We need all four lines going on a consistent basis," Couturier said. "If we can get everyone going on the same page and pushing in the right direction, we'll be tough to beat."

For the Canadiens (22-16-3), their disappointing eight-game road swing ended with a 2-6-0 record thanks to being outscored 27-18.

Montreal coach Michel Therrien was not pleased with Tuesday night's game.

"Emotionally, we were not there," he said. "There are some guys on our team in the second half that are going have to really start to pick up their game."

Montreal, which comes home for three straight, is 3-12-0 since Dec. 3 but has stayed afloat in large part because of nine consecutive wins to start the season.

"We just have to be better," Therrien said. "We didn't skate today."

Flyers goaltender Michal Neuvirth (9-5-2) needed to make 21 saves for the win, while goalie Ben Scrivens (0-2-0) denied 27 shots in his second start for Montreal.

With the Flyers holding a 3-2 lead in the third period, Philadelphia defenseman Nick Schultz's shot from straightaway bounced directly off the back boards and right to Couturier, who batted it in before Scrivens could react to provide insurance.

In desperation time, Montreal pulled its goalie and got a goal from left winger Daniel Carr with 57 seconds left, but the Flyers prevailed.

"Everybody has to chip in and do their part," Philadelphia coach Dave Hakstol said. "We have to get contributions from everybody."

Couturier sparked the game's scoring by creating a turnover and dishing an outlet pass to Schenn, who finished with a breakaway goal 5:06 into the first period to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead.

The Canadiens got it back with 5:46 left in the opening stanza when center Alex Galchenyuk fought his way in front and deflected a shot by defenseman Mark Barberio into the back of the net for his 10th marker of the season.

In the second period, Gostisbehere changed the game with his powerful slap shot.

At 3:20 into the frame, Gostisbehere rocketed one home from the point for his seventh goal in 22 games.

Then he did it again on the power play nearly five minutes later, but this time right winger Wayne Simmonds slightly nicked it to cushion Philadelphia's advantage to 3-1.

"(Gostisbehere is) the guy that can hit one-timers and has the confidence to do that," Hakstol said. "He has that patience and moxie to find the shooting lanes up top."

However, Montreal pushed back with 2:57 remaining in the second. Right winger Brendan Gallagher, in his second game back after missing 17 with two broken fingers, brought the Canadiens within one on a tip-in goal for his 11th of the season.

Montreal got off to a 16-4-2 start thanks to a red-hot Gallagher, but when the 23-year-old went down, the Canadiens endured a 5-11-1 skid.

This time, he couldn't save them.

"We have to be better," Gallagher said. "We made too many mistakes, and they made us pay."

NOTES: The Flyers put top offensive threats C Claude Giroux, RW Wayne Simmonds and LW Jakub Voracek on their first line. Philadelphia entered the game 29th in the NHL with 2.1 goals per game. ... Canadiens RW Devante Smith-Pelly returned to the lineup after sitting the previous three games as a healthy scratch. He replaced RW Dale Weise, who suffered an upper-body injury in the Winter Classic on Jan. 1 and will miss two to three weeks. ... Flyers LW Matt Read was back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch on Jan. 2 for the first time in his career. ... Canadiens G Ben Scrivens received his second start since being acquired in a Dec. 28 trade with the Edmonton Oilers. Starting G Carey Price remains out with a lower-body injury. ... The Flyers went with six defensemen, electing to sit D Brandon Manning and D Evgeny Medvedev.