Final Score: Montreal 5, Dallas 3

Montreal, QC (Sports Network) - Brian Gionta scored twice, including the game-winner in the third period to help the Montreal Canadiens take a 5-3 win over the Dallas Stars at Bell Centre.

Michael Cammalleri and Benoit Pouliot each had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens, who had dropped three of four coming in. Carey Price had 33 saves in the game and added an assist.

"It was a tight game," said Gionta, who played in his 500th career game. "Tied going into the third and anytime you get the go-ahead goal, you get excited. We stuck with it and didn't lay back as much as we had in the past. Once we had the lead we took over."

Mike Modano, Toby Petersen and Steve Ott each had a goal for the Stars, who lost all three games of a three-game road trip and have lost nine straight as the guests. Marty Turco was charged with all five goals on 28 shots.

"It's been a variety of things on the road," said Modano, who scored the 550th goal of his career. "Our power play has been able to bail us out at times, but not tonight. They played well and moved the puck well, but we had a better effort on the road tonight then in previous games. You have to just keep going through it."

With the score tied in the third, Montreal took a 4-3 lead on the power play as Pouliot fired a wristed on net from the left circle that was stopped, but Gionta was in front to bang home the rebound at the 7:14 mark.

Cammalleri put the nail in the coffin with 3:19 to play as he took a lead pass near the Dallas blue line, slammed on the brakes at the left circle and used a turnaround shot to beat Turco.

Dallas took a 1-0 lead 8:25 into the first as Petersen, skating on a 2-on-1 break, fired a wrister into the net from the right circle.

Montreal got the goal back on the power play with 7:16 left in the first as Scott Gomez sent a pass from the low right side to the slot where Gionta fired a one-timer in.

The Stars, though, took a 2-1 lead with a power play goal of their own as Stephane Robidas fired a shot from the high slot that Ott tipped in.

The Habs knotted the game up again at the 2:51 mark of the second as Georges Laraque slammed the puck home during a scramble in front for his first goal of the season. Less than four minutes later, they took a 3-2 lead on Pouliot's seventh goal of the season.

However, the Stars tied the game with 5:05 to play in the middle stanza when Modano cleaned up a rebound in front of the net for his seventh goal of the season.

Game Notes

Both teams play on Saturday as Montreal hosts Ottawa and Dallas welcomes Detroit...Montreal has won three of the past four in the series...Montreal went 2-for-2 on the power play while Dallas went 1-for-3.