Monahan's two goals lifts Flames past Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- Sean Monahan scored two goals, and the Calgary Flames defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-2 at Prudential Center on Thursday.

Monahan has scored five times during a four-game goal streak.
"When we're moving our feet, that's when we're at our best," Monahan said. "That's when you can feel that energy on the bench and within the room. When we're confident playing for each other and sticking to the script, that's when things are clicking."
WATCH: [All Flames vs. Devils highlights]
Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and an assist, and David Rittich made 30 saves for the Flames (28-18-8), who have won three straight.
"[Rittich] certainly is playing well for us," Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said. "It's not just in the games. He's a real good goalie in practice and an extremely hard worker, and it translates to the games. He made some big saves and has given us a chance every time he goes in net."

Taylor Hall had a goal and an assist, Pavel Zacha scored, and Keith Kinkaid made 22 saves for the Devils (27-18-8), who have lost two straight.
"It was a pretty even game," Hall said. "For some reason, the last 10 to 20 games, we're not finding ways to get leads and keep leads. We're close. We're not far away. It's not like we are playing poorly. We have to find a way to get over that hump."
Zacha scored a power-play goal at 7:23 of the third period to make it 3-2 after taking a pass from Brian Boyle in the slot and shooting a backhand between his legs past Rittich.

Monahan scored off a rebound from between the circles while battling with defenseman Sami Vatanen at 4:16 of the second period to give Calgary a 1-0 lead.
"I think it kind of goes under the radar (that Monahan has 27 goals this season) but I'm not surprised at all," Gaudreau said. "He's a great player with a great shot."
Hall tied the game 1-1 at 7:23 after intercepting a pass from Dougie Hamilton, and scoring off his own rebound from the left slot.
Gaudreau made it 2-1 when he scored five-hole on Kinkaid with a backhand off a breakaway at 14:33.
"I knew a guy was coming on the far side, from behind, so I tried to shield him off and brought it to my forehand and then to my backhand and slipped it five-hole," Gaudreau said.

Monahan extended the lead to 3-1 at 18:05 after gathering the rebound from his initial shot that hit the post and deflected off Andy Greene's head, and scoring from low in the right circle.
"We want to make plays and help the team win, so it's a privilege to play with [Gaudreau], and we look forward night in, night out to get our team going," Monahan said. "This is an important time of the year and we definitely want to be guys who can help this team win, move forward and be where we want to be."

Goal of the game

Monahan's goal at 18:05 of the second period.

Save of the game

Rittich's save on Blake Coleman 38 seconds into the first period.

Highlight of the game

Zacha's goal at 7:23 of the third period.

They said it

"A lot of family and friends sacrificed going to the Eagles (Super Bowl) parade this afternoon to come and watch me, so I feel very fortunate. Me and my family are huge Eagles fans, but they decided to come watch me instead, which makes me want to play well in front of them." -- Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau
"In my opinion, [Gaudreau] is an elite player, and I haven't seen a guy as good at finding space and sniffing out loose pucks than [Monahan]. He just has an uncanny ability of putting himself in positions where the puck is going to go. [Monahan and Gaudreau] have great chemistry; Johnny is elite, and Monahan finds spots and can finish." -- Flames coach Glen Gulutzan
"We knew coming in, one of the things we talked about, we had to contain and outplay their top two lines. We didn't do that." -- Devils coach John Hynes

Need to know

Gaudreau has a four-game point streak (three goals, four assists), and 23 points (five goals, 18 assists) in his past 16 games. … Monahan leads the NHL with 10 game-winning goals, two shy of tying the single-season Flames record set by Joe Mullen in 1986-87. … Calgary is 15-5-5 on the road this season. ... Hall has 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) with at least one in each of his past 12 games.

What's next

Flames: At the New York Rangers on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MSG, SNW, NHL.TV)
Devils: At the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, MSG+, NHL.TV)