Gaudreau's 4-point night powers Flames past Habs
CALGARY, Alberta -- Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and three assists as the Calgary Flames beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-0 on Thursday for their eighth consecutive win.
Michael Stone and Sean Monahan added a goal and an assist each, while goalie Brian Elliott made 24 saves for his first shutout of the season.
For Stone, it was his first goal for the Flames since being acquired in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on Feb. 20. Stone also drew an assist on Monahan's goal for his 100th career NHL point before leaving the game with an upper-body injury early in the third period.
Micheal Ferland also scored for the Flames (37-26-4), who finished the game with just four defenseman as Dougie Hamilton also sustained a lower-body injury late in the second period.
Al Montoya finished with 33 saves in net for the Canadiens (38-22-8), who had won six games in a row.
Although he was listed as Montoya's backup, goalie Carey Price wasn't on Montreal's bench to start the game. According to Montreal coach Claude Julien, Price was experiencing flu-like symptoms, so the team decided to give him the night off.
"We didn't deem he was well enough to play after what he's been through since last night," Julien said. "It was the right decision to make. That's why we have a good backup goaltender that can come in and do the job as well."
Giordano scored the lone goal of the first period at 7:38 when he took a drop pass from Matthew Tkachuk and snapped a shot into the top corner, glove side past Montoya.
In addition to netting his 10th goal of the season, Giordano helped thwart one of Montreal's best scoring chances late in the first when he reached back to chip the puck away from left winger Max Pacioretty, who was parked in front of Calgary's net with Elliott out of position.
Stone put the Flames up 2-0 at 8:36 of the second when his shot from the far boards found its way past Montoya, who was screened by Troy Brouwer on the play.
Monahan and Ferland scored 26 seconds apart later in the period to extend Calgary's lead. They took advantage of fortunate bounces to snap shots from the slot past Montoya.
Gaudreau scored the only goal of the third period at 16:12 to record his second four-goal game of the season.
NOTES: The Flames employed the same lineup for the eighth straight game, meaning that C Curtis Lazar, C Freddie Hamilton and D Dennis Wideman sat out as healthy scratches. ... Canadiens C Brian Flynn sustained an upper-body injury during a 2-1 overtime win over the Canucks in Vancouver on Tuesday. RW Michael McCarron took Flynn's spot in the lineup Thursday. ... Habs C Tomas Plekanec missed his second game in a row due to an upper-body injury. Prior to sitting out against the Canucks, Plekanec had played 236 consecutive games for Montreal. ... Montreal also scratched D Nikita Nesterov, D Brandon Davidson and RW Alexander Radulov, who is close to making his return after missing three games with a lower-body injury. ... Flames LW Johnny Gaudreau has three goals and 10 assists in his past eight games.