Big homecoming for Isles rookie

MONTREAL — Anthony Beauvillier made the most of his first NHL game back home. The 19-year-old rookie, who grew up in nearby SorelTracy, scored in the first period and the Islanders beat the slumping Canadiens 3-0 Thursday night.

Beauvillier had a large group of family and friends on hand for the game.

“It’s really special,” he said. “I couldn’t ask for a better night than getting the two points in Montreal with family and friends around, and for the ovation at the end.”

Beauvillier said he bought 19 tickets for the game and he had a sizeable cheering section among the sellout crowd. His parents’ emotional reaction to his goal was shown on the scoreboard.

“They’re the reason I’m here,” he said. “They supported me since I’m young. They paid for everything. It means everything for me to have them here. It was a little gift for them to score a goal and get the win here.”

Thomas Greiss stopped 24 shots for his third shutout of the season, Anders Lee scored in the second period and John Tavares added an empty-netter in the final minute to seal the Isles’ third straight win. They have won the first two on a crucial nine-game road swing and improved to 12-4-2 since interim coach Doug Weight replaced the fired Jack Capuano. With the victory, the Isles are tied with the Bruins for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 68 points.

“Pretty good from the drop of the puck,” Tavares said. “And a big goal by Bo. It was nice to see him score in his hometown. … It was great to see him get rewarded.”

Carey Price finished with 21 saves as the Canadiens lost coach Claude Julien’s 1,000th NHL game. Montreal is 1-2-0 since Julien replaced Michel Therrien last week.