CALGARY, Alberta -- Johnny Gaudreau was happy to chip in offensively, but he was even more impressed with the play of goalie Brian Elliott.

Gaudreau had a goal and three assists as the Calgary Flames beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-0 on Thursday for their eighth consecutive win, while Elliott made 24 saves for his first shutout of the season.

"We wouldn't be in the position we are today without him," said Gaudreau, who registered his second four-point game of the season. "We need a big-time player to step up at this part of the season and that's exactly what he's doing for us. It's great. It's fun to watch. We feel great in front of him."

Elliott has posted wins in seven straight starts for the Flames (37-26-4), who extended their winning streak to eight games in a row.

"It's just fun to be on this ride right now with the guys," said Elliott. "Personally, you want to stay playing well and feeling good seeing the puck. When the guys are playing like they are in front of you, you just stop a couple and they do the rest."

Michael Stone and Sean Monahan added a goal and an assist each, while Micheal Ferland also scored.

For Stone, it was his first goal for the Flames since being acquired in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on Feb. 20. Stone also drew an assist on Monahan's goal for his 100th career NHL point before leaving the game with an upper-body injury early in the third period.

The Flames finished the game with just four defensemen as Dougie Hamilton sustained a lower-body injury late in the second period.

"Hopefully tomorrow they're feeling better," said Giordano. "Injuries at this time of year are tough. But again, we have a lot of depth. You hope for the best for those guys and they're back quick."

Al Montoya finished with 33 saves in net for the Canadiens (38-22-8), who had won six games in a row.

"I thought if anything he kept us in the game early on when we weren't going," said Montreal coach Claude Julien, who only informed Montoya he was playing on Thursday afternoon. "Unfortunately it caught up to all of us. We just weren't good enough tonight."

Although he was listed as Montoya's backup, goalie Carey Price wasn't on Montreal's bench to start the game. According to Julien, Price was experiencing flu-like symptoms, so the team decided to give him the night off.

"Unfortunately Price was sick, but he's been phenomenal for us," said Montoya. "For me it's my job to go in there and step up and give the team a chance to win."

Giordano scored the lone goal of the first period at 7:38 when he took a drop pass from Matthew Tkachuk and snapped a shot into the top corner, glove side past Montoya.

Giordano also thwarted one of Montreal's best scoring chances late in the first when he reached back to chip the puck away from Max Pacioretty, who was parked in front of Calgary's net with Elliott out of position.

"You've got to stay patient with opportunities like that," said Pacioretty. "That's an example of it not bouncing my way, but I've been on the right end of a lot of those. You've just got to keep trusting your instincts."

Stone put the Flames up 2-0 at 8:36 of the second when his shot from the far boards found its way past Montoya, who was screened by Troy Brouwer on the play.

Monahan and Ferland scored 26 seconds apart later in the period to extend Calgary's lead. They took advantage of fortunate bounces to snap shots from the slot past Montoya.

Gaudreau rounded out the scoring at 16:12 of the third period.

"I've been up and down throughout the season there trying to find the net," said Gaudreau. "It's nice to contribute offensively. I think our line has been playing pretty well."

NOTES: The Flames employed the same lineup for the eighth straight game, meaning that C Curtis Lazar, C Freddie Hamilton and D Dennis Wideman sat out as healthy scratches. ... Canadiens C Brian Flynn sustained an upper-body injury during a 2-1 overtime win over the Canucks in Vancouver on Tuesday. RW Michael McCarron took Flynn's spot in the lineup Thursday. ... Habs C Tomas Plekanec missed his second game in a row due to an upper-body injury. Prior to sitting out against the Canucks, Plekanec had played 236 consecutive games for Montreal. ... Montreal also scratched D Nikita Nesterov, D Brandon Davidson and RW Alexander Radulov, who is close to making his return after missing three games with a lower-body injury. ... Flames LW Johnny Gaudreau has three goals and 10 assists in his past eight games.