ST. LOUIS (AP) – Alexei Kovalev scored the lone shootout goal to give the Montreal Canadiens a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday night.

After the Blues missed on all three of their shots in the tiebreaker, Kovalev beat Manny Legace with a high backhander for the win.

Andrei Kostitsyn and Robert Lang scored in regulation for the Canadiens, who won for only the second time in six games after starting the season 8-1-1. Carey Price stopped 24 shots.

The Canadiens were 0-for-10 on the power play and have scored twice in their last 36 chances. St. Louis was 1-for-9 with the man advantage.

Steve Regier scored twice for the Blues, and Legace also stopped 24 shots.

Price gave the Canadiens a chance to win it with a pad save on Keith Tkachuk’s shootout attempt.

The Blues appeared on their way to a win until Lang tied it at 2 with 4:12 to play on an assist from Kostitsyn.

Regier, recalled earlier in the day from Peoria of the AHL, took a feed from David Perron in the low left slot and beat Price 3:24 into the final period to give the Blues a 2-1 lead.

The Blues’ Cam Paddock won a faceoff to Cam Janssen, who collected the puck and snapped a shot from between the circles that deflected in off Regier in the crease past Price 3:48 into the opening period to give the Blues a 1-0 lead.

Legace preserved the lead in the opening period with a terrific save with the paddle of his stick on a shot from the right of the goal from Tomas Plekanec with 2:52 remaining in the period.

Kostitsyn’s backhand that squirted through Legace’s pads tied the game at 1 with 1:55 remaining after an outlet pass from Price.

Notes: Blues C Andy McDonald left the game late in the first period with a lower body injury. McDonald went awkwardly into the corner boards in the Montreal end and was favoring his left leg while being helped off the ice. … Montreal D Mike Komisarek (strained shoulder) missed his second straight game after being injured during a fight Thursday night in Boston. … Blues F Lee Stempniak has 10 points in his last six games after managing only one point in six games to begin the season. … The assist for Price was his third career point. … Montreal D Francis Bouillon took a shot to the mouth off in overtime and was immediately rushed off the ice.

AP-ES-11-16-08 2059EST