Flames score nine against Blue Jackets, five in row in second period

COLUMBUS-- Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau each had four points for the Calgary Flames in a 9-6 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.

Calgary (17-9-2) scored five straight goals in the second period after trailing 4-1.
Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and two assists, and Mark Giordano had three assists for the Flames, who have won three straight.
"We were down 4-1 in a tough barn to play in against a really good team, so for us to come out with two points was huge for us," Giordano said.
WATCH: [All Flames vs. Blue Jackets highlights]

Cam Atkinson set a Blue Jackets record with his sixth hat trick, breaking a tie with Rick Nash. Atkinson has 19 goals and extended his NHL-career best point streak to 11 games, second-longest in Columbus history. Ryan Johansen had a 13-game streak from Dec. 18, 2014 to Jan. 17, 2015.
"It was one of those games where I thought we played a good first period," Atkinson said. "We kind of sat back and allowed them to play. I don't think we checked hard. We made it a real easy game for them. Anytime you're up 4-1 you should be able to lock it down."

The 15 goals are the most in a Blue Jackets game, surpassing the 13 goals done three times, most recently Jan. 22, 2017, in a 7-6 win at the Ottawa Senators.
"It was a bizarre game, right?" Calgary coach Bill Peters said.
Flames goalie David Rittich made 11 saves on 14 shots in the first period before being pulled for Mike Smith, who made 13 saves.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 18 saves before being replaced at 6:29 of the third period by Joonas Korpisalo after Gaudreau made it 8-5. Korpisalo made one save and allowed one goal for Columbus (15-10-2).

Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said he wavered whether to pull Bobrovsky, who tied his NHL career-high in goals allowed, set Oct. 13 at the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"I fought all night long as far as 'Should I take him?', all night long, because you could see ... some of them were deflected," Tortorella said. "It was just one of those nights. He just didn't look comfortable. I just decided to see if he could play through it."
Gaudreau gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 6:24 of the first period by taking a drop pass from Monahan and snapping a shot over Bobrovsky's glove.

Zach Werenski tied it 1-1 at 9:47, and Josh Anderson scored at 15:43 with two seconds left on a power play for a 2-1 lead.
Atkinson made it 3-1 by scoring with 18 seconds left in the first period. He increased the lead to 4-1 49 seconds into the second period on the first shot Smith faced.
"It's never easy to come off the bench," Smith said. "Then the first shot, one goes in and you're thinking, 'Boy, oh boy, this is going to be a long one.'"
Giordano made it 4-2 five seconds into a power play at 1:55 of the second, and Elias Lindholm scored at 2:46 to make it 4-3. Tkachuk tied it 4-4 at 12:39 and then fed Noah Hanifin for a 5-4 lead at 13:29. TJ Brodie scored on a rebound at 14:32 to make it 6-4.

Nick Foligno got Columbus to within 6-5 at 15:00. Monahan scored the Flames' third power-play goal at 2:15 of the third period to make it 7-5.
Atkinson made it 8-6 at 8:13 of the third period. Austin Czarnik scored at 13:11 to make it 9-6.
"I think this is a one-off," Foligno said. "I don't think this is a true testament of the way we play."

They said it

"We were bad in the first. There's no sugarcoating it. We gave them a ton of chances. We weren't moving very well. They were the better team. After their fourth goal we seemed to make the switch." -- Flames captain Mark Giordano
"It's one of those games, but at 8-6, I think we still have a really good chance. They score the ninth one and take the wind out of our sails. Imagine me saying that?" -- Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella

Need to know

The Flames scored nine goals for the 55th time in Atlanta/Calgary history, and for the first time since Feb. 14, 2011 at the Colorado Avalanche. ... Calgary defenseman Dalton Prout played 11:56 after being a scratch since the second game of the season (Oct. 6). ... Werenski's goal was his 100th NHL point (32 goals, 68 assists) in 182 games. ... Blue Jackets forward Artemi Panarin has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in the past eight games. ... Atkinson has 19 points (13 goals, six assists) during his point streak. ... Gaudreau has nine points (four goals, five assists) in a five-game point streak.

What's next

Flames: Host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, FS-N, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, FS-O, NHL.TV)