Mikael Backlund, Johnny Gaudreau power Flames to win

DENVER -- Mikael Backlund and Johnny Gaudreau each had two goals and an assist in the Calgary Flames' 6-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center on Tuesday.
The Flames (19-16-2), who traveled from Calgary in the morning, have won two games in a row and three of their past four.
"We showed some character," said Gaudreau, who has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 10 games since his return from a fractured finger. "It's a long day, getting up at 6, getting on the plane, flying all the way out here and taking a long bus trip to the rink here. I think the guys did a great job tonight."

WATCH: All Flames vs. Avalanche highlights
Backlund, who has six points (three goals, three assists) in the past two games, didn't play in the third period after blocking a shot with his knee while killing a second-period penalty.
"We just hope it's a bruise and he can carry forward," Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said. "That's the residual of taking too many penalties. That's something we have to address. We have to start dialing in on how many penalties we're taking or it's going to bite us."
The Flames killed all six Colorado power plays, including a 5-on-3 for 1:34 late in the second period. They've killed 18 in a row in a four-game stretch.
Backlund scored two of the Flames' four second-period goals when they took a 4-2 lead. His centering pass for Matthew Tkachuk hit Avalanche defenseman Fedor Tyutin and bounced by goalie Calvin Pickard at 1:33 to tie the game 1-1. Pickard had 25 saves.
Sam Bennett's deflection of Deryk Engelland's shot bounced in off Avalanche defenseman Francois Beauchemin for a 2-1 lead at 9:49, and Gaudreau's shot off the glass caromed over the net and in off Pickard at 11:45 to make it 3-1.

The Avalanche (12-21-1) pulled within 3-2 at 13:12 on Jarome Iginla's 616th NHL goal, but the Flames went in front 4-2 at 15:51 when Backlund kept a rebound alive and put it in off Beauchemin.
"When you attack enough you're going to get some bounces and that's what we did," Backlund said. "We put enough pucks to the net and bodies to the net. We got one off a ricochet, one came off the back wall, we had people in the right spots and it caused them some havoc."
The Avalanche's home woes continued. They've lost nine in a row (0-8-1) at Pepsi Center since a 4-1 win Nov. 15 against the Los Angeles Kings.
"I believe you do earn your bounces," said Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, who scored two goals, his first in nine games after missing 10 with a lower-body injury. "For a team in our position we can't just go out there and play and think that we're going to get bounces. We have to work for every bounce that we get and the good things and the bounces will come."
Flames goalie Brian Elliott had 25 saves for his second consecutive win.

Goal of the game

Gaudreau's second goal. He took a pass from Kris Versteeg after criss-crossing with him in the slot and beat Pickard to the glove side for a 5-2 lead at 10:22 of the third period.

Save of the game

Pickard stopped Michael Frolik skating in alone at 11:20 of the second period to prevent the Flames from taking a 3-1 lead.

Highlight of the game

Avalanche forward Carl Soderberg fed Iginla for a shot in the high slot that eluded Elliott to the stick side for his 616th NHL goal, nine behind Joe Sakic for 15th place.

Unsung performance of the game

Engelland played 5:58 shorthanded and was on the ice for all 1:34 of Colorado's two-man advantage that began with 2:27 left in the second period. He logged 18:08 overall, had an assist, three shots and two blocked shots.

They said it

"It's tough. You fly into high altitude on the day of the game. Everyone thinks I'm whining about it, but it definitely is not easy, and they're a team that plays fast. We had to play a smart game to create chances, and we did that." -- Flames forward Kris Versteeg
"You earn your bounces. I'm not going to make any excuses. Those pucks going into the net, they count just the same. You have to find a way not to have lapses like that. It's another disappointing result on home ice. Six goals on 31 shots, it's a tough result." -- Avalanche goalie Calvin Pickard

Need to know

Iginla got his 1,282nd NHL point to move past Alex Delvecchio into 34th place on the career list ... The Avalanche are 1-for-30 on power plays in seven games ... Tkachuk has five points (one goal, four assists) in a four-game streak ... The Backlund-Frolik-Tkachuk line combined for five points (two goals, three assists) and has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in the past two games.

What's next

Flames: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SN360, PRIME, NHL.TV)
Avalanche: At the Dallas Stars on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET; FS-SW, ALT, NHL.TV)