MONTREAL — Brian Flynn and Max Pacioretty scored in the first period, and the Montreal Canadiens stopped a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.

Jeff Petry also scored for Montreal (20-8-3), which scored more than two goals for the first time in six games.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for Ottawa (15-10-5), which went 1-3-0 on a four-game road trip.

Determined to break their losing streak, and facing a flat-looking opponent, the Canadiens tied a team record with 27 shots on Craig Anderson in the first period and took a two-goal lead.

Nathan Beaulieu’s wraparound was blocked, but Flynn was at the far post to score on the rebound 2:48 into the game. Pacioretty put a wrist shot under the crossbar at 19:27 to double the lead.

Petry got a feed from Dale Weise and scored from the slot 5:39 into the second period.

After a second-period goal was disallowed because Pacioretty batted the puck in with his hand, Ottawa Coach Dave Cameron pulled Anderson for Chris Driedger, who had only 22:52 of previous NHL experience in a game last season in New York.

The move woke up the Senators, and Pageau won a race for a big rebound off Alex Chiasson’s shot on a counterattack at 11:24. It was his third goal in three games this season against Montreal.

SABRES 2, KINGS 1: Ryan O’Reilly’s sliding overtime goal helped Buffalo snap a three-game losing streak with a win over visiting Los Angeles.

O’Reilly was tripped as he cut to the slot but got off an off-balance shot that fooled Kings goaltender Jhonas Enroth at 3:19 of overtime. It was O’Reilly’s 100th NHL goal.

Jamie McGinn also scored for the Sabres, and Linus Ullmark made three of his 21 saves in overtime.

Marian Gaborik scored for the Kings. Enroth, a former Sabres goalie, finished with 28 saves.

The loss snapped the Kings’ six-game winning streak, but Los Angeles has picked up at least a point in nine in a row.

CAPITALS 2, LIGHTNING 1: Braden Holtby made 35 saves to win for the 10th time in his last 11 starts, and Washington won at Tampa, Florida.

Washington got goals from Jay Beagle and Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Nikita Kucherov scored for the Lightning – his fifth goal in the last four games. Steven Stamkos had an assist but saw his goal-scoring drought reach eight games.

ISLANDERS 3, BLUE JACKETS 2: Kyle Okposo got his second goal of the game 2:16 into overtime to lift New York to a victory at Columbus, Ohio.

Brock Nelson also scored and Jaroslav Halak made 28 saves as New York improved to 7-0-2 in its last nine games.

Brandon Saad and Cam Atkinson scored for Columbus, which entered with one win in its last seven (1-3-3). The Blue Jackets had a potential winning goal in the final minute of regulation overturned by a video review.

NOTES

PENGUINS: Pittsburgh fired head coach Mike Johnston and assistant Gary Agnew, with the high-profile team languishing in the middle of the pack in the crowded Metropolitan Division.

Johnston went 58-37-15 during his brief stint with Pittsburgh.

Mike Sullivan, who was head coach of the Boston Bruins from 2003-06 and was serving as coach of the Penguins’ affiliate in the American Hockey League, replaces Johnston.

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