MONTREAL -- The Montreal Canadiens' special teams were exactly that against the New York Islanders on Sunday night.

Montreal scored three power-play goals and one shorthanded to help the club to a 4-2 win over New York in the back end of a home-and-home.

The Islanders, meanwhile, went 0-for-5 with the extra attacker.

"Give them credit, they've got a good penalty kill," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said of his team's inability to connect with the man advantage. "But at the end of the day, we could have generated a few more shots, and it came back to cost us the hockey game.

"I'm not going to fault our guys for their structure and the even strength play here tonight but our penalty kill has to get going. The last week and a half or two, we've given up goals consecutively in these games and tonight two or three. It's got to be better."

Centers Alex Galchneyuk and David Desharnais, and left wingers Tomas Fleischmann and Max Pacioretty also scored for Montreal (16-4-2).

Centers John Tavares and Anders Lee replied for the Islanders.

Goaltender Thomas Greiss stopped 23 shots for New York (10-8-3).

Tavares opened the scoring at 18:41 of the first period. The Islanders won a puck battle behind the Canadiens net and got it to defenseman Travis Hamonic at the point. He took a quick shot that Price stopped but the Montreal netminder didn't hang on to the rebound. Right winger Kyle Okposo tried to sneak it behind the left leg of an outstretched Price and Tavares was there for the loose puck to notch his 10th of the season.

The Canadiens' power play snapped an 0-for-15 drought to tie things up in the second period. After defenseman P.K. Subban's point shot hit Islanders blue-liner Brian Strait at the inner hashmarks, right winger Dale Weise skated in close to try to beat Greiss and Desharnais, untouched in front, was there to knock in the rebound at 9:37.

Fleischmann's seventh of the season put the home side ahead 2-1 at 14:09. With Montreal shorthanded, Fleischmann stripped Okposo of the puck at the Canadiens' blue line and skated up the ice 2-on-0 with left winger Lars Eller before rifling a wrist shot from the top of the slot past Greiss.

It was the Canadiens' league-leading fifth shorthanded marker.

"We've got a lot of guys with a lot of speed and the ability to read plays," said goaltender Carey Price, who made 21 saves in earning his ninth win of the season. "That's a big momentum swing when you can get one of those."

Lee evened the score at 11:53 of the third period, just as a New York power play expired. After Hamonic kept a Montreal clearing attempt from leaving the zone, he sent the puck over to defenseman Johnny Boychuk, whose shot from the point wound up in a scramble in front. Center Mikhail Grabovski dished the loose puck over to Josh Bailey to the right of the net and Bailey fed an uncovered Lee on the other side.

Galchenyuk restored the Canadiens' lead on the power play at 16:31. Subban showed patience at the blue line before sending a perfect feed to Galchenyuk in the right circle for the one-timer. The goal, the center's third of the season, was his first since Oct. 29.

"It's one of the best feelings, especially to score at home at the Bell Centre when you haven't scored in a while," he said. "You're trying to stay as positive as you can and work hard. For the last couple of games, I think I worked on my game more and created offensive chances and got more shots, too. I knew it was coming and I'm happy it did tonight."

Subban's assist was his 246th career point, moving him past Jean-Guy Talbot into 10th place on the Canadiens' all-time points list among defensemen.

Pacioretty capped off the scoring with an empty-netter on the power play with 8.9 seconds remaining for his 300th career point.

"Our guy's skating, not even in the crease," Tavares said of the goaltender interference call that led to the game-winner. "It's a tough call to make, I think. I didn't really see the too many men but our bench wasn't happy.

"We lost the special teams battle so obviously there's no excuse there but definitely some things didn't go our way."

Right winger Brendan Gallagher blocked a Boychuk shot in the second period and did not return.

Canadiens coach Michel Therrien announced after the game that he fractured two fingers and would undergo surgery on Monday, and would be out indefinitely.

NOTES: Montreal RW Devante Smith-Pelly missed the game with a lower-body injury suffered in Friday's game against the Islanders in Brooklyn. ... RW Sven Andrighetto, called up on Saturday, made his season debut for the Canadiens. ... Montreal scratched D Jarred Tinordi and C Bud Holloway, who was recalled Sunday morning, while C Torrey Mitchell and D Alexei Emelin remained on injured reserve, both with lower body injuries. ... Islanders D Adam Pelech drew in for D Marek Zidlicky while LW Taylor Beck dressed in place of RW Steve Bernier. ... G Jaroslav Halak backed up Thomas Greiss, leaving G Jean-Francois Berube as the scratch for New York. ... The game was the final meeting of three regular season matchups between the two clubs, all taking place over two and a half weeks in November.