JAKE BRAKE

There were a lot of significant streaks and storylines coming into Saturday's tilt with the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
There was captain Mark Giordano who was playing in his 900th game, one of the game's best 'rags-to-riches' stories, coming into the NHL undrafted and becoming an all-star and then winning the Norris Trophy at age 35.
Young star Matthew Tkachuk, at the tender age of 23, was suiting up for his 300th game, the former first-round pick living up to the hype that surrounded him coming into the league.
However, the only number that really mattered to the Flames was three - as in the number of straight losses they had suffered.

NEED-TO-KNOW
POST-GAME VIDEO
Game Highlights
Post-Game Interviews
STAT PACK
Stats & Scoring Summary
Scoring Leaders
Standings
MORE
Photo Gallery
Say What - 'Really Stuck Together'
UPDATES

Coming off a 4-2 defeat to the same Habs just 48 hours earlier, they were eager to get back in the win column and add some points in the dogfight that is the all-Canadian North Division standings.
Thanks to an absolutely stellar goaltending performance from Jacob Markstrom, they did just that.
The big 'tender made 37 saves - including 15 in the second period when the Canadiens came in waves - as the Flames collected a 2-0 victory and improved to 3-3-1.
It was a nice early birthday present, as Markstrom will turn 31 tomorrow.
It was Montreal's first regulation loss of the season, as they fell to 5-1-2.
It was also Calgary's first win against the Canadiens in their last seven tries.
When he was signed in the summer as one of the biggest free-agent targets on the market, the hope was that Markstrom could be a difference maker for the Flames.
So far early in this season, he has done just that.
He's started all of Calgary's games except the Thursday tilt and parked back in his office, he put on a goaltending clinic.
Dillon Dube also returned to the fold after missing three games due to injury and was noticable all night, laying a massive hit on Jesperi Kotkaniemi behind the Montreal net in the middle stanza.
He also had a breakaway late in the third with Calgary clinging to a one-goal lead but was denied.
The Flames liked their finish in Thursday's outing, both of their goals coming late in the third period.
They promised to build on that Saturday, play with more passion and avoid getting behind early - something which has plagued them of late.
They got a golden chance to strike first when former Flame Brett Kulak was whistled for interference as he held up Sam Bennett near the Montreal blueline.
The Flames powerplay had scored nine times this season on 28 attempts, collecting at least one extra-man marker in each of their six games.
They increased that streak to seven when Johnny Gaudreau - who led the team in scoring with eight points coming into the game - caught a long high pass from Elias Lindholm with his glove, set the puck on the ice and snapped a wrister short-side over the shoulder of Jake Allen, who got the start after backing up Carey Price Thursday.
Tkachuk got the other helper.
Gaudreau has now picked up at least a point in every game he's played this year, the only Flames player to do so.

Allen came up huge just after a second Calgary powerplay ended, making a big stop on Mikael Backlund.
The Calgary centre had won the faceoff and then slipped into the slot, where Juuso Valimaki found him but Allen was able to look around Milan Lucic who was parked in front as a screen and stop the puck.
Markstrom was also tested in the first, his best stop coming when he kicked out his left pad right to the pipe to deny a close-in chance by Nick Suzuki, who skated across the crease alone, trying to tuck it around Markstrom.

As mentioned, the Habs outshot the Flames 15-5 in the second period and Markstrom really showed his A-game to keep Montreal off the board.
He made a huge stop in the period on a Habs powerplay, when Tyler Toffoli sent a pass out to Tomas Tatar in the slot for a quick shot.
Markstrom flashed the glove in a 2-on-1 to deny Phillip Danault and then stopped Joel Edmundson while laid out after making an initial save.
The Flames had a lot more jump in the third. Early in the period, Sam Bennett drove the net, put a nifty move on a Habs defenceman but couldn't beat Allen, who got an arm on his attempt.
Later, Bennett made a great feed to Backlund but Allen turned his shot aside.
Just past the midway point, Joakim Nordstrom drove off the wing and got a shot off that Allen stopped, the winger sliding on his butt, before getting back up and grabbing the puck and trying a wraparound that was also stopped. The officials reviewed to see if the puck crossed the line but the original call was upheld.
After some more wild back-and-forth in the frame, Backlund iced the game with an empty-netter with 33 seconds left.

THEY SAID IT:

Markstrom on the victory:
"When the shots were coming, I was seeing the puck. When I didn't, our guys were blocking shots and clearing rebounds. It made my job a heckuva lot easier. That was a big win for us to come back here after some games where we haven't been happy and satisfied with the results. It's a big win for us and something we can build on."

Giordano on Markstrom:
"When your goalie plays like that, you're not going to lose. Ever. Great moment for him to step in. Obviously, we've been on a little bit of a slide here. Guys were blocking shots and we were invested emotionally, and he was our backbone out there. We'll take those goaltending performances whenever we can get them."

Tkachuk on scoring first:
"It's definitely important to get the lead. We haven't played with the lead much in the last couple weeks. Definitely nice to get the first one. Normally, when you play with the lead you're able to get everybody out there and keep everybody fresh. ... All in all, it's way more fun playing with the lead."
Head coach Geoff Ward on the outing:
"It's something to build on, for sure. We really liked our first, and the second period became a special teams game, so we had a lot of guys sitting on the bench not doing a lot. And then I thought the guys did a great job re-grouping and coming out and having a great third. ... What can you say about the goaltender? He was the difference in the hockey game tonight."

ONE-TIMERS:

Flames assistant equipment manager Corey Osmakworked his 1,500th pro game tonight. Congrats Ozzy! ... The D-pairing of Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev have played in seven games together this season and have yet to surrender a five-on-five goal ... Flames Assistant General Manager Craig Conroywas drafted by the Canadiens in the 1990 NHL Draft. Conroy skated in 13 games for Montreal scoring one goal before being dealt to St. Louis for the 1996-97 season ... Monahan is four goals away from reaching 200 in his young career.

THE LINEUP:

\To start the game
Lines:
Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Andrew Mangiapane
Matthew Tkachuk - Elias Lindholm - Dillon Dube
Sam Bennett - Mikael Backlund - Josh Leivo
Milan Lucic - Derek Ryan - Joakim Nordstrom
D Pairings:
Mark Giordano - Rasmus Andersson
Noah Hanifin - Chris Tanev
Juuso Valimaki - Nikita Nesterov
Goaltenders:
Jacob Markstrom - starter*
David Rittich

UP NEXT:

Nothing better than an extended stay in Winnipeg in February. Thanks to this year's unique schedule, the Flames now jet to the Manitoba Capital to play the Jets three times in four nights: Feb. 1 (6 p.m. TV: Sportsnet West; Radio: Sportsnet 906 The FAN), Feb. 2 (6 p.m. TV: Sportsnet West; Radio: Sportsnet 906 The FAN), and Feb. 4 (6 p.m. TV: Sportsnet West; Radio: Sportsnet 906 The FAN). They return to the Scotiabank Saddledome for their first tilt of the campaign against the Oilers on Feb. 6.