Pacioretty scored twice to lead the Canadiens to a 5-2 victory over the Maple Leafs on Wednesday night and emphatically avenge a 6-0 home loss on Feb. 9.

There was bad blood between the longtime rivals in that previous meeting when an alleged biting incident involving Mikhail Grabovski and Pacioretty took place.

But instead of physical retaliation, the Canadiens effectively used their speed to outplay Toronto, cementing the win on third-period goals by rookie Brendan Gallagher, Pacioretty and Brian Gionta.

“The coaches talked to us before the game about sticking to our game plan and not getting sucked into the emotions of the game,” Pacioretty said. “I think we did a great job of that.”

Defenseman Josh Gorges echoed Pacioretty’s take on the rematch.

“There’s always a lot of different ideas, different emotions especially after the last way we played these guys about how do we get back,” he said. “It’s not about grabbing somebody and jumping them and feeding them punches because that really doesn’t do us any good in the long run.

“It may feel good for a few minutes if that opportunity did ever come, but ultimately two points always feels better.”

Gallagher scored his sixth of the season at 9:08 of the third period to break a 2-2 tie. Pacioretty clinched the win for Eastern Conference-leading Montreal (13-4-3) with his sixth at 14:26, and Gionta added an empty-net goal with 2:26 left.

Frazer McLaren and Clarke MacArthur scored for Toronto (12-9), which had won three straight at home.

Since being shut out by Toronto, the streaking Canadiens have gone 7-0-2. They outshot the Leafs 40-23 before a crowd of 19,625 — the largest in Toronto this season.

The Maple Leafs, who earned a 2-1 win at Montreal in the season opener, fell to 4-5 at home overall.

“The Maple Leafs played two terrific games at the Bell Centre and we knew we had to bounce back from those type of games,” Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. “We certainly played a great team game and stuck to our plan, and we were controlling our emotion to play that game.

“Right from the get go I thought our guys were ready to play, and we set the tone. They tried to be physical on us but I was not afraid of that. We just kept focusing on the things we had to do to be successful.”

Maple Leafs goalie Ben Scrivens made his eighth straight start and kept his club in the game, finishing with 35 saves.

“We were flat, flat, flat, flat,” Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. “It looked like at times that we were playing in our boots and they were playing on skates.

“We just didn’t get anything going for ourselves. I don’t think there’s any way to paint it pretty and I’m sure you guys will give us a lot of help.”

The Canadiens had forward Michael Ryder in the lineup after reacquiring him from the Dallas Stars on Tuesday for Erik Cole.

Ryder didn’t figure in the scoring but wore his usual No. 73 after rookie Gallagher gave it up to him. Ryder has worn No. 73 since breaking into the NHL in 2003. Gallagher wore No. 11.

Montreal controlled much of the first period, outshooting the Leafs 12-4, but McLaren opened the scoring with his second goal at 13:44.

Defenseman Alexei Emelin tied it with his first at 16:56 before Toronto’s Mike Brown received a major penalty for checking from behind. He was ejected after he hit Gorges in the final minute of the period.

Pacioretty put Montreal ahead on the power play at 4:17 of the second. Scrivens attempted to deflect P.K. Subban’s point shot to the corner but it deflected in off Pacioretty for his fifth.

Toronto had a prime chance to tie it when Grabovski was awarded a penalty shot at 11:45 after he was hauled down by Emelin. But Grabovski couldn’t beat Price to the stick side on the attempted deke.

MacArthur tied it at 15:47 with his fifth.

Game notes

This was the third of five meetings this season between the teams. … James Reimer served as Scrivens’ backup after being added to the active roster earlier Wednesday. Reimer had been out since sustaining a knee injury Feb. 11 against Philadelphia. G Jussi Rynnas was reassigned to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Reimer is expected to start Thursday at the New York Islanders. … With Rafael Diaz (concussion) out, Montreal D Tomas Kaberle suited up against his former team. … Maple Leafs D Mark Fraser came into the game leading the NHL with a plus-14 rating.

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“(We) shut them out in the second half! Tell them to have fun at the Pro Bowl!” he shouted as he exchanged congratulatory hugs and high-fives with teammates as they walked into the locker room. Seven Patriots were selected to play in the Pro Bowl, which is slated to be played Sunday. Players on teams that reach the Super Bowl do not play in the Pro Bowl the weekend before.

A few minutes later, an excited Suggs explained how his Ravens had an edge even though they were nearly nine-point underdogs playing on the road against a Patriots team most predicted would win.

“Y’all gotta understand, we had an advantage on any team that’s ever walked into Foxborough, because we’ve been here before and we’ve also won here before in a playoff game,” said Suggs, who was on the 2009 Ravens team that upset the Patriots in Foxborough in the playoffs and on the team that nearly knocked off New England in last season’s AFC title game.

Patriots receiver Deion Branch was more subtle with his jabs when informed of Suggs’ comments after the game.

“I don’t know. I think,” said Branch, before a long pause, “they won the game. I’ll leave it at that. Champions carry themselves a little different. If you talk to Ray (Lewis) it might be a little different. If you talk to some other guys, they are champions. That’s not how a true champion talks, regardless of whether you win or lose. It just doesn’t work that way. But congratulations to the Ravens.”

The bad blood between Suggs and Tom Brady, in particular, dates back a number of years. In 2010, a season in which Brady was named NFL MVP, Suggs said he voted for Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick over Brady for the Pro Bowl. He also called Brady’s three Super Bowl titles “questionable” because of the “tuck rule” game in 2001 and the Spygate scandal that surfaced in 2007.

After Sunday’s game, he was more complimentary of the Patriots’ quarterback.

“You can’t take anything away from 12 (Brady),” Suggs told ESPNBoston.com. “You gotta play perfect to beat him, and we played perfect. I mean, a second-half shutout is pretty good.”

Suggs, however, saved his biggest pat on the back for his own signal-caller, Joe Flacco, who threw for 240 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions Sunday.

“I can’t wait to hear what Skip Bayless (of ESPN’s “First Take”) says tomorrow because Joe once again, two years in a row, outplayed the great No. 12, and he showed just how ‘Joe Cool’ he is,” Suggs said. “But he still has one more to get. We’re not satisfied by any means. We’re going to celebrate tonight, and tomorrow it’s back to work.”

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