Canadiens can't win in California

The Montreal Canadiens aren't California Dreamin'.

Rather, the Golden State has been a nightmare for the Habs, as a 2-1 loss Friday to the San Jose Sharks extended a 17-year streak for the franchise, one it would prefer to hide in the back pages of the record books. That is, the Canadiens haven't won in Silicon Valley since 1999.

The Canadiens haven't won in San Jose since Napster was a thing. On Nov. 23, 1999, in San Jose, the Canadiens beat the Sharks 3-2. Craig Rivet scored the game-winner. Jose Theodore got the win. And the team hasn't won a game in Northern California since.

They haven't fared much better in SoCal.

On Tuesday, the Anaheim Ducks shot down the Canadiens 2-1. And no doubt Anaheim doesn't feel like Disneyland to the Canadiens, where the team hasn't seen a regulation win since March 8, 2004, back when the Ducks were still Mighty.

The Canadiens will have a chance to win in Hollywood on Sunday when they take on the Los Angeles Kings, where the historical odds aren't in their favor but they have found more success there than the other two locales. Sunday marks five years and a day since the Canadiens last crowned the Kings, beating Los Angeles 2-1 in a Dec. 3, 2011 affair.

As for Montreal, back-to-back losses has dropped their record to 16-6-2, but with 34 points, they still sit atop the East. It's all good, just as long as they stay out of California.