Calgary, AB (SportsNetwork.com) - Sean Monahan continued his stellar rookie campaign Friday, notching the game-winning goal with 2:43 remaining to lift the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils at Saddledome.
Monahan, selected sixth overall by the Flames in June's draft, has lit the lamp in four straight games while racking up six points over his first five NHL games.
Mark Giordano and Dennis Wideman added a goal and an assist apiece for the Flames, who wrapped up a quick three-game homestand at 2-1.
"There is still lots of hockey to be played," said Flames coach Bob Hartley. "There is still 77 games to be played. It is just a matter of making sure we keep building."
Joey MacDonald stopped 19-of-21 shots in the victory.
Adam Henrique and Dainius Zubrus each scored once, while Martin Brodeur allowed all three goals on 29 shots for the Devils, who are winless through their first five games of a season for the first time since the Colorado Rockies where 0-4 with a tie through five games in 1981-82.
"We've got guys in the room there, veteran guys that know how to win games and we have to execute and win games," said Devils coach Peter DeBoer. "That's the bottom line. We are not getting it done."
With the score deadlocked at 2-2 late in the third frame, Monahan, who turns 19 on Saturday, made his way to the low left side while his teammates battled for the puck along the right boards.
Calgary's Sven Baertschi emerged from the scrum with the puck and fluttered a cross-ice pass for Monahan, who buried the one-timer past a sprawling Brodeur to put the Flames in front.
"Pretty exciting win," said Hartley. "A great third period. I was not very happy with the first 40 minutes apart from our power play. We made some line changes, we juggled the lines a little bit, tried to create life and we start to block shots and we start to buzz around their net a little bit and we got the winning goal."
Giordano was whistled for delay of game after flipping the puck out of play from his own end with 1:19 remaining, but the Devils failed to cash in on the 6-on-4 with Brodeur on the bench, allowing Calgary to hang on for the victory.
Henrique got the Devils on the board with 6:02 left in the first frame when he pounded home a rebound off an Andy Greene point shot to make it 1-0.
Wideman's one-timer from above the left circle with the Flames on the power play 5:37 into the second made it 1-1, but Zubrus answered with one-timer of his own at the 16:03 mark to put the Devils back in front.
New Jersey nearly extended its lead shortly after, but Michael Ryder was whistled for interference after barreling into MacDonald as the puck crossed the goal line.
With Ryder in the penalty box, Calgary quickly cashed in, as Giordano faked a shot from above the left circle before flipping a backhand from the slot that knuckled past Brodeur to tie the game with 18.3 seconds left in the period.
Game Notes
Calgary's Jiri Hudler finished with two assists and has recorded at least one point in each of Calgary's five games this season ... Calgary finished 2-for-4 on the power play, while New Jersey failed on both of its opportunities with the man advantage ... Zubrus' goal was his first of the season.
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