Monahan scores in overtime, Flames top Avalanche for fifth straight win

DENVER -- Sean Monahan scored at 2:09 of overtime and the Calgary Flames won their fifth straight game, 5-4 against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center on Monday.

Monahan skated to the net after accepting a pass from Dillon Dube and shot it over Pavel Francouz's glove.
"I thought it was back and forth a little bit there," said Monahan, who has seven points (four goals, three assists) in a six-game point streak. "They're a skilled team and they've got top guys who can finish, and that showed tonight.
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"When you're getting looks, that gives you confidence. You want to put one in, but at the end of the day you just have to stick with it, and I got my opportunity in overtime. Getting that extra point was huge."

Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and an assist, and David Rittich made 28 saves for Calgary (16-12-4), which is 6-0-1 in its past seven games and 5-0-0 when coached by Geoff Ward.
The Flames trail the Edmonton Oilers and Arizona Coyotes by four points for first place in the Pacific Division.
"I didn't even know [about my record]," Ward said. "We're taking it a day at a time. We've put ourselves in a pretty good situation, but we've got a hard week coming up and we've got an opportunity going into Arizona (on Tuesday). If we play a good game and get some points, we can be just a couple back of the division leaders."
Nathan MacKinnon, Joonas Donskoi and Ryan Graves each had a goal and an assist, and Francouz made 28 saves for Colorado (19-8-3), which had won six in a row.
The Avalanche opened a three-game homestand after winning three straight on the road.
"We looked tired, we didn't have a lot of energy, execution was poor," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "It looked like a lack of energy to me. On the bright side, we'll take the point and run. It's a tough game coming back off a road trip, three tough games, all big wins, coming in and playing a hungry team that's on top of their game."
The Flames took a 4-2 lead on goals by Andrew Mangiapane and Michael Frolik 1:27 apart early in the third period. Mangiapane scored 12 seconds in with a shot from between the face-off circles, and Frolik converted Tobias Rieder's pass through the goalmouth at 1:39.

MacKinnon made it 4-3 at 3:59 with a shot from the left circle, and Donskoi tied it 4-4 at 10:45 when he shot far side from the left circle after taking a pass from MacKinnon.
"It looked to me like [MacKinnon] got (angry) in the final 17 minutes and started to really work and get after the game," Bednar said. "I thought he dominated the last 17 minutes. I was double-shifting him, he was buzzing and he ended up being part of two big goals for us and he almost had another one in overtime."
Graves gave Colorado a 1-0 lead at 4:32 of the first period.
Calgary tied it 1-1 at 9:33 of the second when Derek Ryan tipped in Oliver Kylington's shot from the left point.
Valeri Nichushkin gave the Avalanche a 2-1 lead at 10:04 on a rebound.
Tkachuk tied it 2-2 with a power-play goal at 16:04 for his 200th NHL point.
"The way the game went and the way we were able to come back after they made it 4-4 showed our character," Tkachuk said. "Getting it to overtime was big for us and getting the extra point, that was great."

They said it

"It reinforces the confidence the guys have in each other, reinforces the trust you need to have in your teammates and it springboards us forward a little bit. It's nice to see them get rewarded for hard work, and now our skill's starting to show." -- Flames coach Geoff Ward
"The difference between winning and losing in this league is so small; it's just a couple percent you let off the gas, you can end up losing. I think that's a good lesson for us. We have to find a way to work hard every night and bring the effort we had on the road, the last three games. It's a good lesson and we keep going forward." -- Avalanche forward Joonas Donskoi

Need to know

Tkachuk has seven points (two goals, five assists) in the past six games. … Dube has six points (two goals, four assists) in a three-game point streak. … MacKinnon has 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in the past 11 games. … Donskoi has nine points (four goals, five assists) in the past five games. … Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (upper body) and goalie Philipp Grubauer (lower body) were injured Saturday against the Boston Bruins and didn't play. They are day-to-day.

What's next

Flames: At the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; SN1, FS-A, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV)
Avalanche:Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN)