CALGARY — Mikael Backlund remained red hot, scoring for the fifth consecutive game as the Calgary Flames beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 on Wednesday night.

Backlund made it seven goals in his last five games at 17:20 of the second period to make it 2-0. Mark Giordano's shot was stopped by Calvin Pickard but the rebound popped into the slot where Backlund buried his team-leading 12th goal of the season.

It is the longest goal streak for the Flames since Curtis Glencross scored in seven consecutive games from Feb. 27 to Mar. 11, 2012.

Kris Versteeg, Alex Chiassson and Johnny Gaudreau also scored for Calgary (21-17-2). Giordano, TJ Brodie and Sean Monahan had two assists each. Chiasson also had an assist for a two-point game.

Patrick Wiercioch was the lone scorer for Colorado (12-25-1), owner of the NHL's worst record. It has lost five in a row and 10 of their last 11.

The only goal of the first period came off the stick of Versteeg at 15:25 when nine seconds into Calgary's first power play, his shot from the slot caromed in off the skate of Fedor Tyutin.

Forty-four seconds after Chiasson made it 3-0 at 13:25 of the third, Calgary made it three power play goals when Gaudreau faked out Pickard and stuffed the puck inside the goal post.

Calgary's power play has been on a real roll the last five weeks. Ranked 30th in the NHL at the end of November at 10.1 per cent (8-for-79), it has been the best in the NHL since that point, operating at 35.7 per cent (20-for-56).

Colorado's best spurt came midway through the second period while down 1-0 when they had a pair of two-on-one's just minutes apart. But neither resulted in a shot. Mikael Grigorenko fired Joe Colborne's set-up wide on the first. Then Mikko Rantanen fired a shot off the post after a nice pass from Nathan MacKinnon.

Brian Elliott's bid for his first shutout of the season ended with 1:25 left in the third period on Wiercioch's third goal.

Elliott was tested only 18 times in winning his fifth straight start and improve to 8-9-1.

The much busier Pickard finished with 33 stops to fall to 6-11-1.

Up next for the Flames, who have won four of their last five, is a home-and-home with the Vancouver Canucks that begins Friday at Rogers Arena.

Notes: Backlund's goal was his 200th NHL point... Backlund ties Dallas' Patrick Eaves and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby for the second-long goal streak this season. Nashville's James Neal had a six-game in November... Freddie Hamilton drew into the Flames line-up for the first time since Dec. 2... Since his opening game hat-trick, Avs forward Joe Colborne has gone 29 games without a goal.