After allowing their seven-game win streak come to an end with an uncharacteristically bad loss, the Anaheim Ducks have an opportunity to prove that defeat was no more than a minor slip-up tonight.

Unfortunately, they catch the Montreal Canadiens in one of their hottest stretches of the season on a night they will honour one of the franchise's most loved players.

Catch all the action on TSN Radio in Montreal starting at 6pm et.

The Ducks amassed 42 shots Tuesday, yet fell victim to a hot opposing goaltender. That could be their same fate tonight against Carey Price.

Montreal (20-10-2) has won three straight behind both Carey Price, who owns a 1.33 goals-against average during that run, and a resurgent offense, which has scored 13 goals in its last three games after managing just 13 in the previous seven.

The line of Alex Galchenyuk, Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher led the charge in Montreal's 4-1 win over Carolina on Tuesday. Galchenyuk recorded a hat trick with assists on all three goals by Pacioretty.

"He's a young guy with a lot of potential," Therrien said of Galchenyuk. "We're all aware of that. Games like this one give him confidence. He's creating good chemistry with Pacioretty, and he's already very used to playing with Gallagher."

Montreal had defeated Vancouver and Los Angeles in its two previous games by a combined 9-3 score. That sort of offensive output has been key for the Canadiens, who are 15-1-1 when they score three or more goals, and 5-9-1 otherwise.

Moving through a five-game Canadian road trip, the Ducks (21-7-5) had topped Edmonton and Winnipeg before surrendering a season-high six goals in a 6-2 loss to Toronto on Tuesday. Frederik Anderson stopped 16 of 20 shots before he was pulled in the third period.

"We gave up some easy goals, goals I'm sure Freddy Andersen would've liked to have back," Andrew Cogliano told Anaheim's official site. "He's been playing great for us and we have to get some goals for him.

"It was a team effort and we lost. Hopefully we can get going back again in Montreal."

There promises to be a charged atmosphere in the Bell Centre on Thursday with the Canadiens set to honor longtime captain Saku Koivu. Koivu, who retired in September, played the final five seasons of his 18-year career with the Ducks after captaining Montreal from 1999-2009. He missed nearly all of the 2001-02 campaign as he battled non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but returned for the season's final three games.

"He taught us what the word 'courage' really meant," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. "He made us better people."

Anaheim sits atop the NHL with 47 points, but the team is no stranger to poor defensive performances. The Ducks rank in the bottom half of the league with 2.61 goals allowed per game and have surrendered six goals in a single contest four times.

It's their offense - averaging 3.50 goals per game since Dec. 1 - which has usually picked up the slack. Ryan Getzlaf leads the team with 34 points, while Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry and Matt Beleskey have combined for 39 goals. Perry, however, is currently sidelined with a knee injury.

Anaheim has lost the last two matchups with Montreal after going 5-0-1 in the previous six.

 

Game Notes:

MTL was 2-0-0 vs ANA last season

ANA has gone 3-1-0 past 4 games in MTL (lost last)

Montreal:

won 3 straight, all at home, outscoring opponent 13-4

8-1-1 past 10 at home, outscoring opponent 38-17, 23/26 on PP

12-0-0 when scoring first

Markov/Desharnais both have (1G, 2A) past 2 games

Anaheim:

1-2-0 on road trip, 2/9 on PP (lost last)

15-0-4 when scoring first

Getzlaf (2G, 3A) 3 game PT streak