LOS ANGELES -- Dwight King said Saturday's clash with the Anaheim Ducks will be the biggest game of the season for the Los Angeles Kings.

"Everybody knows that going in, obviously," the Kings left winger said. "It's going to be pretty much playoff hockey."

King's third-period goal was the difference in a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday at Staples Center. It kept the Kings (38-21-4) locked atop the Pacific Division standings with the Ducks, who are riding a 10-game winning streak after 5-1 rout of the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday in Glendale, Ariz.

The Kings, who have won five of their past six contests, and Ducks will square off for the second time in the past week. Anaheim (36-19-8) claimed a 4-2 verdict Sunday at Honda Center.

Against Montreal, King stole the puck from Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban at center ice and scored on an unassisted tally at 5:16 of the third for a 3-1 edge. It was King's seventh goal this season.

"I just kind of blocked it," said King, who scored his seventh goal of the season. "He tried to dump it back in, it went off me, and then he lost his feet trying to look for it, so I had a little bit of time coming in. Once I got across the line, I went for the slap shot fake. Once (goalie Ben Scrivens) got moving, I slid it through."

Lars Eller, with an assist from Subban, pulled Montreal within a goal at 14:06 of the third, but the Kings held the Canadiens scoreless the rest of the way.

Jonathan Quick stopped 13 shots for Los Angeles.

Scrivens had 28 saves on 31 shots. The Canadiens (30-29-6) dropped their third in a row. They were coming off a 4-2 setback to the Ducks on Wednesday.

Montreal's fourth game in the past six nights took its toll.

"I felt like our guys didn't have any energy tonight, and it's understandable," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. "This is a good hockey team. This is the best defensive team in the league. The way that they played, they're tough to play against. You have to give those guys a lot of credit. But energy-wise, it was really tough for us."

The win over the Canadiens allowed the Kings to capture the season series. They recorded a 3-0 decision on Dec. 17 at Montreal. It is only the third time Los Angeles has sweep Montreal, with the last time occurring during the 2013-14 season.

"We didn't give up much," said Kings coach Darryl Sutter, whose club managed two goals in each of its previous five games. "They had just a handful of chances. Three is enough to win, and they were probably fortunate to get two on us."

Anze Kopitar scored 56 seconds into the contest, misdirecting a blast by Alec Martinez for his 19th goal of the season and a 1-0 Kings lead. Martinez earned his fifth point in three games.

Tanner Pearson followed with his 12th goal of the season less than three minutes later for a 2-0 Kings advantage. Pearson smoked a shot past Scrivens at 3:33 of the first period.

Subban cut the deficit in half, fielding a pass from Andrei Markov and ripping a slap shot from just outside the right circle past Quick with 1:28 remaining in the first. For Subban, it was his sixth of the season.

"I thought we played some really good hockey," Subban said. "We probably would've liked to generate a little bit more offense, but what are you going to do? I mean, we worked hard and we gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game. That's all you can ask for in a back-to-back."

Kris Versteeg, whom the Kings acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, made his Los Angeles debut. Versteeg had two shots on goal and was a minus-1 in 10 minutes of ice time.

NOTES: The Kings lead the league with seven wins when trailing through two periods. ... Los Angeles is 32-89-20 all-time against Montreal. The Kings are 22-40-9 at home. ... Canadiens LW Max Pacioretty is one of two players in the NHL with at least shot on goal in every game this season, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Vancouver Canucks LW Daniel Sedin is the other one. ... Montreal scratched D Victor Bartley, RW Sven Andrighetto and LW Lucas Lessio, while D Jamie McBain and C Andy Andreoff were unavailable for Los Angeles.