Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz challenged the Flames OT-winner, citing a possible off-side on TJ Brodie, and the arena anxiously to see if the home team would get a favourable call.

But a quick look at the replay assured the 21-year-old his team would be leaving D.C. with a 3-2 victory.

"I was pretty confident it was a good goal," Monahan said. "I watched Brods carry the puck over and I was pretty sure it was good.

"Dougie shot it up to Brods there, it was a two-on-one and I just tried to get in there to get the puck and Brods made a great pass."

With that game-winning tally, Monahan now has five overtime goals on his resume -- just one shy of Jarome Iginla's six, which is a Flames franchise record. Monahan is now tied with Thereon Fleury, who netted five game-winners in extra time in 791 games in Calgary silks.

In addition to inching closer to Iginla's record, Monahan also pushed himself into the lead in goals scored among Flames skaters with six. He beat Capitals goaltenders Philipp Graubauer twice in Washington -- early in the third period in addition to his OT tally.

After a slow start to the year, Monahan's game has rounded into form in November. He has six points this month, has put 17 shots on net, and has won over 50 percent of his draws in his last four games.

"Shooting [more] plus he's skating very well ... his stride, he's a powerful skater," was Hartley's assessment of Monahan's success this month. "When his feet are moving like they're moving now, he's definitely a threat. You saw the his first, the goal early in the third, our second goal. Right there, great stop-up play, gained the middle, and a great wrist shot.

"He's playing very well right now and that's great news for us."

Friday's victory also featured a standout performance from goaltender Karri Ramo. The 29-year-old, who in his second start in as many nights made 34 saves against the Capitals at the Verizon Center.

Since being recalled from the Stockton Heat in late October, the goaltender has had seven consecutive starts, clearly earning the coaching staff's trust as the games have rolled along.

"You could see signs that his game was building in past games. We could see the Karri that we saw last year," Hartley said. "Last night, right away, I said, 'How do you feel?' He didn't answer that question. He said, 'I want to play.'

"He came back with another strong performance and he was the player of the game for us."

Now, with their first win under the challenge is to keep the momentum going against a strong Chicago Blackhawks club on Sunday.

"It's good for our confidence. It's kind of what we need," forward Michael Frolik said. "I think in Tampa we played pretty good but the result didn't go our way. I think the last two games, we were pretty good and we just need to build, keep going, and put in a good effort in Chicago."