It hasn’t been an easy season for the Anaheim Ducks, languishing among the bottom three teams in the NHL.

But there have been some positives of late, which the team will look to build on when they host the Nashville Predators on Friday.

The Ducks enter the contest with a 3-2-1 record in their past six games and are coming off a 3-2 shootout victory against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

“Our chemistry has been building all year,” Ducks forward Adam Henrique said.

Anaheim is near or at the bottom of the NHL in most statistical categories, including goals scored. They’ve managed just 83 for an average of 2.31 per game. At the other end, they’ve allowed a league-high 146 goals, an average of 4.06 per game.

If there’s been a bright spot of late, the Ducks can look to their penalty kill, which has killed off nine straight opposing power plays over their past two games and is 28 for 33 over the past seven games.

While it’s been a solid stretch on the penalty kill of late, penalty trouble has been an issue. Anaheim has been shorthanded 136 times, one of the highest totals in the NHL.

“We’re going to keep harping on it – we have got to be more disciplined with our sticks,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “Get away from these tripping and slashing, and penalties like that. … The only time you want to take a penalty is to save a goal.”

Troy Terry leads the team offensively across the board with 12 goals, 19 assists and 31 points through 36 games. After reaching career highs a season ago with 37 goals, 30 assists and 67 points, the forward is on pace for personal bests in assists and points.

The Predators will play in Anaheim on Friday in the first game of a brief two-game trip, which will conclude Saturday in Las Vegas.

Nashville has lost two in a row (0-1-1) and has just two wins in its past 10 games (2-5-3).

“I think the urgency is always there,” coach John Hynes said after their latest loss, a 3-2 defeat to Dallas on Tuesday. “The season continues to get shorter and shorter. So, finding ways to rebound, play well and get to your game, and find more consistency in our game is what’s going to be the difference (in making the playoffs).”

Like their opponent Friday, offense has been hard to come by for the Predators, who are averaging only 2.45 goals per game. A woeful power play hasn’t helped, clicking at a mere 15.8 percent.

“I think we’ve been talking a lot about the offense and then just playing fast,” Predators captain Roman Josi said after the game against the Stars. “I feel like the last couple of games we’ve done that. We’re getting in our zone more, we’re creating some more chances. It’s a tough loss (against Dallas), but I think we’ve got to just keep building our game and move on.”

–Field Level Media

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby is among 99 Canadians named to the Order of Canada on Thursday.

Mary Simon, governor general of Canada, revealed the names of those selected, a list that includes people from throughout Canada recognized for their extraordinary contributions to their homeland.

“What a beautiful way to end the year, honouring Order of Canada appointees and learning about the depth and range of their accomplishments,” Simon said in a news release. “Their commitment to the betterment of Canada fills me with pride and hope for the future.”

More than 7,600 people have been honored since the Order of Canada was created in 1967, given to those “whose service has shaped our society, whose innovations have ignited our imaginations, and whose compassion has united our communities,” according to the news release.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist with Team Canada in 2010 and 2014, Crosby has the 14th-most points among all Canadian-born players in NHL history with 1,452. The 35-year-old also has won a World Championship (2015) and the World Cup (2017).

Born in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, Crosby was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2005 NHL Draft by the Penguins.

Other athletes to receive the 2022 honor include Karina LeBlanc, who represented Canada at five FIFA World Cups from 1999 to 2015. She now is the general manager of the Portland Thorns FC.

–Field Level Media

The New Jersey Devils will play on the road Friday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins and both Metropolitan Division teams are doing a lot of soul-searching.

In fact, it might be difficult to gauge which team is more frustrated.

The Penguins are having a rough week since exiting of the NHL’s holiday shutdown, going 0-1-1 in losses on back-to-back nights at the New York Islanders and at home against the Detroit Red Wings.

They were something of a no-show Tuesday against the Islanders, then had a strong start Wednesday with four first-period goals but watched as the Red Wings scored five unanswered goals, including the winner in overtime.

Frustration boiled over after the loss to Detroit.

“The fans, I hope, they hate us right now because we can’t play 40 minutes — the second and third periods — like this,” Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin declared.

Whether or not fans are at the level of “hate,” there certainly is some self-loathing within the team.

“We’re beating ourselves in a lot of different ways,” said Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan, whose postgame address to the players was longer than usual Wednesday.

“We’re giving teams easy offense. We’d love to get that. We’re handing teams easy offense. It’s hard to win that way.”

Sullivan said the problem isn’t limited to the players.

“I just think the standard is higher, and none of us are living up to it, myself included,” he said.

The game against New Jersey will be the Penguins’ third in four days. It’s also Pittsburgh’s last one before Monday’s marquee Winter Classic outdoor game against the Bruins at Boston’s Fenway Park.

“We have to find answers, obviously,” Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin said. “We have to press here. We have an important one coming Friday. Obviously, it’s going to be a big test, another divisional opponent. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.”

The Devils might not feel sorry for themselves, but they aren’t happy with the way things have been going, either.

New Jersey gave up two third-period goals Wednesday in a 3-1 loss to the Bruins, while falling to 1-7-1 over the past nine games.

Injuries are mounting — forward Ondrej Palat and goaltender Jonathan Bernier are on long-term injured reserve, and defensemen John Marino and Ryan Graves went on injured reserve this week — but New Jersey is looking more closely at those who are playing.

Mistakes proved costly Wednesday, nullifying what Devils coach Lindy Ruff thought was otherwise a good effort.

“I thought the team deserved better,” Ruff said.

But that’s the way it’s been going since New Jersey got off to a sizzling start this season at 21-4-1.

“It’s frustrating,” Devils forward Erik Haula said. “It’s just, once again, we’ve got to … look at it, the areas where we’re making mistakes, and we’ve got to get better.”

After falling out of a tie in the third and losing Wednesday, New Jersey has a similar refrain to Pittsburgh about finishing games.

“It shouldn’t happen, but that’s hockey,” Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler said. “But we have to play 60 minutes. That’s how long a hockey game is.”

–Field Level Media

Jack McBain scored two goals, including the game-winner with 6:17 remaining, and Karel Vejmelka made 29 saves as the Arizona Coyotes defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on Thursday night in Tempe, Ariz.

Barrett Hayton had a goal and two assists, Nick Bjugstad had a goal and an assist, and Jakob Chychrun and J.J. Moser also scored goals for Arizona, which won its third straight game while improving to 6-1-1 in its last eight home games.

Calle Jarnkrok, Pontus Holmberg and Alexander Kerfoot scored goals for Toronto, which had a three-game winning streak snapped. Conor Timmins added two assists and Matt Murray made 17 saves for the Maple Leafs.

Arizona needed just 46 seconds to take a 1-0 lead. Bjugstad stole the puck from Auston Matthews along the right boards and then cut in and flipped in a backhand shot past Murray’s blocker side for his eighth goal of the season.

Toronto tied it at the 9:02 mark with a power-play goal. Holmberg deflected a Timmins shot from the left point for his third goal of the season.

Jarnkrok give the Maple Leafs a 2-1 lead 3 1/2 minutes later with another power-play goal, firing a wrist shot from the right circle into the far corner past Vejmelka’s glove side for his eighth goal of the season.

Arizona tied it again at the 6:52 mark of the second period when Chychrun stuffed in a rebound of a Nick Ritchie shot through Murray’s pads for his fourth goal of the season.

Kerfoot put Toronto back in front midway through the period with his sixth goal of the season, tapping in a rebound of a Mark Giordano shot into an open left side of the net.

The Coyotes tied it 3-3 early in the third on a power-play goal by Moser, who rifled a wrist shot from the top of the left circle past a screen and over Murray’s blocker for his fifth goal of the season.

McBain then tapped in a crossing pass from Lawson Crouse inside the left post with 6:17 remaining to give Arizona 4-3 lead. The Maple Leafs pulled Murray for an extra attacker, but McBain sealed the win with an empty-netter with 2:22 left, his sixth goal of the season. Hayton added another empty-netter with 49 seconds to go.

–Field Level Media