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Two teams still within striking distance of wild-card spots face off on Sunday afternoon when the Montreal Canadiens open a three-game California road trip against the Anaheim Ducks.

It’s the second of two regular-season meetings between the teams. The Canadiens, behind a goal and an assist from Patrik Laine, won the first one, 3-2, in a shootout on Dec. 9 in Montreal.

Anaheim, which is just 11-12-2 at the Honda Center, returns home after splitting a two-game road trip that began with a 6-4 victory at Seattle and ended with a 4-1 loss at Calgary on Thursday.

The Ducks had won three in a row, tying their season-high winning streak, before the loss to the Flames. They took a 1-0 lead midway through the first period on a short-handed goal by Frank Vatrano, but Calgary responded with four consecutive goals over the final two periods.

Anaheim, which ranks last in the NHL with 130 goals scored, had outscored its opponents 16-7 during its three-game win streak. The Ducks fell to 1-24-4 when scoring two goals or fewer with the loss to the Flames.

“I just think we lacked a little bit of jump,” defenseman Jackson LaCombe said. “We started the game well and I think there were moments we were good but we just got sloppy in the second (period) there and we just couldn’t catch up.”

Anaheim plays two of its final three games at home before the 4 Nations Face-Off break. The Ducks entered Saturday nine points out of the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

“Obviously, to end on a good note,” LaCombe said when asked what his team’s mindset is heading into the final week before the break. “For us to get a few points and have some momentum heading into the break is huge. That’s what we’ve got to do.”

LaCombe is fifth on the team with 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists), while Vatrano (15 goals, 14 assists) is tied for second at 29 with Ryan Strome (seven goals, 22 assists). Troy Terry paces Anaheim with 39 points (16 goals, 23 assists).

Montreal, which sat four points out of a wild-card spot in the East entering Saturday, has five games remaining over an eight-day stretch before the break.

The Canadiens bring a four-game losing streak (0-3-1) with them to California following a 4-0 home loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. Montreal managed just 19 shots on goal, including eight over the first two periods.

“I think a lot of it was on us,” center Nick Suzuki said. “We weren’t crisp making passes, turned a lot of pucks over, losing too many battles, a lot of one-and-done stuff which hasn’t been the case for us lately. Hopefully it’s a one-off for us offensively, and we’ve got to find it again going out west.”

Suzuki’s 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) are the most on the team. Cole Caufield trails closely with 47 and leads Montreal with 25 goals.

Center Jake Evans thinks the trip could be just what the Canadiens, who are 11-12-1 on the road, need to snap their skid.

“It’ll be good to just be with the guys and regroup together and hopefully come back with some wins,” Evans said.

–Field Level Media