MONTREAL — Defenceman Nathan Beaulieu believes Montreal's win against Vancouver on Wednesday night should act as a wake-up call for his side.

The Canadiens were flat for much of the game but still crept away with a 3-0 win against the Canucks to extend their winning streak to eight games.

The Habs looked disorganized throughout the encounter as Vancouver outshot them 42-21.

"It's probably the worst game we've played this year," said Beaulieu, who scored the winner in the second period. "We definitely got away with one. We just weren't sharp. We were on our heels. We sat back and didn't dictate the game. It's a lesson tonight.

"It's the best kind of wake-up call to get, one where you get the win. Tough game for us. Back to the drawing board."

The NHL-best Canadiens relied heavily on goaltender Carey Price to keep the winning streak alive. Price made 42 saves for his first shutout and sixth consecutive win of the season.

Price was brilliant throughout, making keys saves look easy to keep the Canucks at bay. The Habs goalie made more than 40 saves for the first time this season. His previous high this year was 38 against the Maple Leafs.

"We're not going to play perfectly every game, that's just a fact," said Price, whose shutout was the 37th of his career. "We definitely can't let ourselves get content. We're going to come out next game and try to get off to a better start."

Montreal (9-0-1) remains the only team still undefeated in regulation time this year. The Canucks (4-5-1), meanwhile, are on a bad stretch since winning their first four games of the year, going 0-5-1 in their last six.

Montreal hardly looked like the league's best team for much of the game. The Habs struggled to generate any momentum and failed to string passes together. The Canucks won most puck battles as they outshot Montreal 13-3 after 20 minutes.

"The first half of the game was tough for us," said Canadiens forward Torrey Mitchell. "We couldn't even touch the puck. If it weren't for Price we would have gone down 3-0 or even 4-0."

The visitors led 24-3 in shots before Montreal got its act together midway through the second.

"The first half of the game we deserved a better fate," said Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins. "Maybe the guys were shooting a little too fine, knowing who was in net. They thought they had to be perfect on their shots. He's a good goalie, we knew that coming in.

"We had a good effort today creating shots. I believe if we play like that every night, we'll win our share of games."

Following sustained pressure by Vancouver, Beaulieu scored on a fast break for Montreal. The defenceman cashed in a rebound at 12:22 after Brendan Gallagher's shot from a tight angle bounced off Ryan Miller and landed in the crease.

The goal was Beaulieu's first of the season and it came on Montreal's 11th shot of the game.

The Habs doubled their lead in the last minute of the second period as Mitchell scored his team-high fifth goal of the year. Mitchell came storming down the wing on a 2 on 1 with Phillip Danault, who found his streaking teammate with a cross-crease pass. Miller, who was playing the shot, had no chance on the goal.

Mitchell is making the most of his scoring opportunities this season. The fourth-line centre has five goals on nine shots.

Alexander Radulov added an empty netter.

The Canadiens improved to 7-0-1 in their last eight home games against Vancouver.

The Canucks had three players back from injury. Forwards Alexandre Burrows (neck) and Derek Dorsett (shoulder) and defenceman Christopher Tanev (lower-body) were all in the lineup.

Notes: Montreal has scored first in 8-of-10 games this season. … The Canucks are on a six-game road trip. … Shea Weber was named the NHL's second star for the month of October. ... Montreal recalled Daniel Carr and Joel Hanley from the AHL's St. John's IceCaps.