EDMONTON, Alberta -- With the Montreal Canadiens, it's never over until it's over.

The Edmonton Oilers learned that lesson the hard way Sunday when they watched Montreal score four goals in the final 6:27 to post their 10th third-period comeback win of the season -- a 4-1 stunner at Rogers Place Arena.

"I thought tonight we did a good job of continuing to press, continuing to press and we had that belief, regardless of how many saves the other guy is going to make, eventually we're going to break through," said Montreal winger Brendan Gallagher. "And sure enough it happened. We stuck with it and got rewarded."

The Oilers, who'd only blown two third-period leads in 23 opportunities this year, were up 1-0 and feeling pretty good about their chances to close out another one when Paul Byron and Max Pacioretty scored 69 seconds apart at 13:33 and 14:42.

With the game still on the line, Byron and Pacioretty added empty net daggers to seal Edmonton's fate.

"We just stuck with it," said Byron, who was one of several Canadiens battling the flu this week. "It was a matter of time, and we got some great bounces at the end."

The Oilers and their bewildered fans didn't know what hit them.

"It's tough to swallow," said winger Jordan Eberle. "You've got a lead, then they get one, then one off a stick, and you go from leading for the majority of the game to being down with only a little bit of time to get back.

"You think you're in control and when it changes that quickly it sucks."

Not if you're Montreal. The Canadiens are 8-2 in their last 10 and finish the road trip 3-1.

"We get to go home with three wins out of four games," said head coach Claude Julien. "With everything we've had to face, with the flu going around the team and everything else, we're pretty happy with the road trip."

The Oilers and Canadiens played to a 0-0 tie at the end of overtime in their first meeting of the season Feb. 5 in Montreal and this one followed the same script for most of the night.

Offense was very hard to come by as goaltenders Cam Talbot (37 saves) of Edmonton and Carey Price (24 saves) of Montreal were the first two stars of the game.

The Oilers scored first, moments after Canadiens center Alex Galchenyuk missed a wide-open net at the other end, when Milan Lucic beat Price with a wrist shot through the five-hole at 4:17 of the second period.

That would be all he would give them.

"We don't have a chance to come back and tie it and eventually take the lead if Pricey is not being Carey Price back there," said Gallagher. "Since I've been here, you've been able to rely on him whether you're up a goal or down a goal to keep the game where it's at and time after time he proves you right."

Talbot was equally strong at the other end, but the roof fell in in a hurry. The Canadiens, as they proved nine times earlier this season, don't quit.

"We stuck with it," said Pacioretty. "We had a lot of chances to tie it and Pauly broke through and got us going. Once he did that, we definitely had new energy. We were buzzing. We were in their zone making a lot of plays. I really liked our game. I think we played a strong game."

With just two wins in their last seven games, the Oilers have fallen from second in the Pacific Division to a wildcard spot, having been passed by Anaheim and Calgary.

"It is a tough one to swallow considering we were in control going into the third period," said Oilers winger Milan Lucic. "But at the end of the day, all of us believe in this group and what we have done so far in this season.

"We can't dwell on frustration or start feeling sorry for ourselves at this time of the year. Most of all, we also can't count on other teams to get the job done for us. The other teams have been winning their games and unfortunately we haven't. We have to come back ready to play and get a win on Tuesday (against Dallas)."

NOTES: Oilers D Darnell Nurse and Habs RW Mike McCarron had a nasty minute-long scrap early in the first period, carrying over a feud that started in Junior. ... Montreal G Carey Price and RW Alex Radulov both returned to the lineup after missing one and three games, respectively, with illness and a lower body injury. Price had never won a game in Edmonton before in his career. ... The Canadiens have been held to two or fewer goals in five of their last six games. ... Oilers LW Milan Lucic has three goals and two assists in his last six games after five points in his previous 13 games. ... Oilers RW Leon Draisaitl has 23 goals on the season, but just one in his last 10 games. ... LW Paul Byron's goals were his third and fourth in the last five games.