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Canadiens @ Ducks: Game preview, start time, Tale of the Tape, and how to watch

The Canadiens head to Anaheim needing to get back in the groove.

Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Game 52: Montreal Canadiens @ Anaheim Ducks

Start time: **4:00 PM EST / 12:00 PM PST**
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Ducks region: KTTV, Victory+
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+

Seeing the third seed in the Atlantic Division within their grasp just a could of weeks ago, the Montreal Canadiens have now claimed just a single point in their past four games, and fallen five points back in the wild-card race. The injury to Emil Heineman had already upset the balance of the team’s forward lines, and now the loss of Kaiden Guhle, made worse by the fact that no one knows just how long he will be out, is having an even larger impact on defence. The Canadiens have been relatively healthy this season other than needing to wait for Patrik Laine’s recovery from a knee injury through the opening quarter, and they now need to deal with some adversity as they try to pull back into the fight.

Not so many years ago, being in a slump would be the worst time to embark on the annual trip to play the three teams in California, but now it’s not such a scary place for the team to visit. The Los Angeles Kings are in a similar slide to Montreal’s as they’ve struggled to score goals for a few weeks now. The San Jose Sharks have made improvements from last year and were looking somewhat competitive in November, but now lose almost every game they play and rank last in the league. Tonight’s opponent, the Anaheim Ducks, has enjoyed a bit more consistency this season after losing 50 games in regulation last year, and is actually the team currently in the best form of the three.

With a chance to play some of the league;s most disappointing teams — the Pittsburgh Penguins, Nashville Predators, and Seattle Kraken — in succession, the Ducks enjoyed three lopsided wins before the Calgary Flames beat them 4-1 on Thursday. Despite the three-game winning streak, Anaheim is 6-7-2 in 2025 and not really involved in what has been a much less interesting wild-card battle in the west. Focus is beginning to shift to the draft as the Ducks face a seventh consecutive season with no playoff hockey, and it won’t be long before they begin to swap roster players for prospects and picks.

Canadiens Statistics Ducks
24-22-5 Record 21-24-6
48.5% (25th) Scoring-chances-for % 43.8% (30th)
2.92 (16th) Goals per game 2.51 (32nd)
3.35 (27th) Goals against per game 3.12 (21st)
20.1% (20th) PP% 12.9% (31st)
82.1% (8th) PK% 74.1% (27th)
1-0-0 Head-to-Head Record 0-0-1

At the 2024 NHL Draft, the Ducks shocked the hockey world (and the player they selected) at third overall by taking Beckett Sennecke. He ranked several spots lower at most prospect outlets, but Anaheim liked what they saw enough to use the selection on him. It looks like a fair decision with Sennecke already hitting last season’s point total of 68 in 40 games played this year and ranking eighth in scoring in the Ontario Hockey League, but I think most Canadiens fans are happy they passed on Ivan Demidov and let him fall to the team at fifth overall. It’s likely that both players will be starting their NHL careers next year, when that debate can rage for a few weeks at least.

Though they have picked relatively high in the opening round during this run with no playoff appearances, the Ducks are not seeing many benefits of those selections this year. Isac Lundestrom (23rd overall in 2018) has just nine points while playing the majority of the games. Trevor Zegras (9th, 2019) has struggled with injuries and consistency and currently has just 13 points in 29 games played. Jamie Drysdale (6th, 2020) was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for Cutter Gauthier (5th, 2022), and Gauthier has 21 points in his first NHL season. Mason McTavish (3rd, 2021) is third on the team in points … with 26. Pavel Mintyukov (10th, 2022) is on pace for fewer points than he had last season. and Leo Carlsson (2nd, 2023), who seemed poised for a breakout after looking good in his rookie year, has just 16 points in 45 games as a sophomore.

It’s a winnable game the Canadiens will play this afternoon, and they have to be thinking about a sweep of this trip to get back in the playoff race. With the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators both on a tear, Montreal could face too large a gap to the Atlantic Division teams above them if they don’t get things turned around immediately with a string of wins of their own. Montreal has won the last three games played versus Anaheim, including at Honda Center last year, and need to extend that to four today.

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