Monahan, Flames defeat Canadiens in overtime

MONTREAL -- Sean Monahan scored his second goal of the game at 1:14 of overtime, and the Calgary Flames ended a three-game losing streak with a 3-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Thursday.
Monahan drove the slot to take a pass from Johnny Gaudreau and shot past Carey Price for his 25th NHL game-winning goal.

WATCH: [All Flames vs. Canadiens highlights]
"You can't give him that much time in the slot," Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said. "He's so lethal there."
Garnet Hathaway scored his first goal of the season to draw Calgary even at 2-2 at 7:49 of the third period.

Hathaway's goal was awarded after a challenge by Gulutzan overturned the referee's ruling of goaltender interference.
"[Gulutzan] had a lot of faith in us," Hathaway said. "He watched it a couple of times and he was fully prepared to challenge it. He thought it was a good goal. That was nice for us and it turned out well. I thought it was a goal. It's a hard play to read when you're on the ice."
David Rittich made 35 saves in his second start for Calgary (15-12-2) since he was recalled from Stockton of the American Hockey League on Nov. 24.
The Flames, who were 0-2-1 in their past three games, won the second of a back-to-back on a two-game trip. They lost 2-1 in a shootout against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
"We know we needed these two points because we lost a couple of points in the home games, but I think we did a very good job here," Rittich said.
Daniel Carr and Phillip Danault scored for Montreal (13-13-4), which lost its second straight following a five-game winning streak.

"We were surprised they had such good legs in the third period," Danault said. "They worked hard, and they played with desperate energy."
Price made 34 saves in his seventh consecutive start.
"I thought we played a pretty good game tonight," Price said. "We did a lot of good things, but that team over there was resilient. Their goaltender played well for them and they found a way to win."
Monahan banked a shot in off Price's glove at 6:31 of the first period to give Calgary a 1-0 lead.
Carr extended his point streak to four games with his second goal to tie it at 1-1 at 8:36. He came out from behind the net and banked a backhand shot in off the back of Rittich's mask.
Danault put Montreal ahead 2-1 with his fifth goal at 10:10 of the second.

Goal of the game

Monahan's goal at 1:14 of overtime.

Save of the game

Rittich's glove save on Paul Byron at 10:45 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Carr's goal at 8:36 of the first period.

They said it

"That kid is a fantastic kid. He's a battler and that's what you need in these back-to-backs. I'm really happy for him. We did a good job, but he made some big saves. A guy puts in that much work, you're happy for him." -- Flames coach Glen Gulutzan on goalie David Rittich
"If you watch the bench when Johnny [Gaudreau] had the puck going down, the whole bench stood up. You know Johnny is going to make a play and [Monahan] doesn't miss from there." -- Flames forward Garnet Hathaway on Sean Monahan's game-winning goal
"We lost a lot of battles along the wall, around our net area, and that's what caused the second goal. This is what we've got to get better at. It's an ongoing thing with our team, to get better in those areas, and for a lot of practices we keep working on that." -- Canadiens coach Claude Julien

Need to know

Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk served a one-game suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct against the Maple Leafs on Wednesday. ... Flames forward Jaromir Jagr missed his second straight game because of a lower-body injury. ... Canadiens defenseman Karl Alzner played his 570th consecutive NHL game. He is tied with Mark Recchi for the 14th-longest consecutive-game streak in NHL history.

What's next

Flames:Host the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, NHL.TV)
Canadiens: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVA Sports, NHL.TV)