MONTREAL -- A stalwart on the Montreal Canadiens' blue line for 16 seasons, Andrei Markov showed Saturday night that age isn't anything but a number.

The 38-year-old scored two goals in a game for the first time in three years and added an assist to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre.

"Obviously, he's best known for his passing ability and his vision, but he's had a very underrated shot as well," goaltender Carey Price said. "When he gets a hold of one, he can really rip it."

Shea Weber also scored for the Canadiens (42-24-9), which moved three points ahead of the Senators atop the Atlantic Division.

"It's a heated rivalry that goes back and forth and, yeah, they got the best of us the last three games but moving forward we're a confident group," Senators center Kyle Turris said. "We know what we can do."

Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for Ottawa.

Carey Price made 31 saves for Montreal. Craig Anderson, playing in his 500th NHL game, stopped 21 shots for the Senators (41-25-8).

Weber got the scoring started on the power play at 9:28 of the first period. After whiffing on a shot earlier in the man advantage, Weber took a feed from Markov at the point and blasted his patented slap shot past a screened Anderson.

"We'll scratch the first one he gave me off the list, but he's a great passer," Weber said. "Every game, it seems like he finds somebody, whether it's for an odd-man rush or he's sliding it over for a good shot."

Markov made it 2-0 just 1:13 into the second period. Max Pacioretty, along the right boards, sent a perfect cross-ice dish to the veteran blue-liner, who showed patience coming in from the point before firing from the top of the left circle.

The veteran defenseman scored his second of the night nearly five minutes later when Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson, in a battle in the corner, sent a backhander out to the slot to a waiting Markov, who wasted no time sending it to the net. It was Markov's first two-goal game since Jan. 11, 2014.

"It's a big team win," said Markov, deflecting credit to his teammates. "We knew it was going to be a tough game. The last couple of games we didn't play good enough, so we brought our focus back. We played all 60 minutes tonight.

Pageau got the Senators on the board at 12:11 of the second period. Mike Hoffman kept the puck in at the left point and skated to his right before dishing a backhand feed to Pageau at the top of the left circle. It was Pageau's seventh goal in 14 career games against Montreal.

"I just try to put the puck on the net," he said of his success against the Canadiens. "Mike drew two or three guys to him and gave me the puck. I just took a shot and thankfully, it went in."

After a lackluster effort against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, Montreal coach Claude Julien was happier with his team's execution against Ottawa.

"I thought in the first period there was some leftover from last game, but when we came out for the second period we wanted the puck and we wanted to execute," he said. "I thought that got better as the period went on. Our guys did well on the penalty kill and our power play scored two goals. Special teams were really good for us and that was the difference.

Ottawa stepped it up in the third period, putting up the first five shots and the Canadiens had none.

Two consecutive power plays for the visitors opened the door, but the Senators couldn't generate much. The Canadiens enjoyed two short-handed opportunities before Alexandre Burrows had a chance for a tap-in, only to hit the post and see an out-of-position Price stretch out for an impressive save.

NOTES: Montreal made two changes to its lineup, with D Nathan Beaulieu and LW Dwight King drawing in for D Brandon Davidson and LW Andreas Martinsen, respectively. ... Canadiens C Steve Ott was also a healthy scratch. ... Senators RW Mark Stone returned after missing seven games with a lower-body injury. ... Ottawa LW Viktor Stalberg was scratched with an upper-body injury. C Christopher DiDomenico and D Jyrki Jokipakka were healthy scratches.