Montreal, QC (Sports Network) - The Houston Dynamo is starting to hit its stride at the right time, and the club will come up against another Eastern Conference contender on Saturday at the Saputo Stadium in the Montreal Impact. Houston has won four of its last six games to move to within three points of the top spot in a crowded Eastern Conference, while Montreal sits two points clear of the Dynamo and will be eyeing first place for itself. You can see all the action on TSN2 beginning at 7pm et/4pm pt. The Dynamo is coming off of a 3-1 win over Seattle last weekend, and just as important as the three points is the fact that both Will Bruin and Giles Barnes appear to have rediscovered their scoring touch. Barnes scored a first-half brace against the Sounders last weekend to snap a three-and-a-half-month drought, and he believes it was simply the result of hard work. "Its always nice to get on the score sheet, but first and foremost your confidence comes from playing well with the team and working hard with the team," Barnes said. "If you work hard youll get your rewards and hopefully thats what Im doing. Im working hard and hopefully the rewards will come." Bruin is another player who has worked his way through a slump to begin contributing again. The forward endured a seven-game scoreless streak prior to the Gold Cup with the United States, but he has returned from that experience to score two goals with two assists in the past three matches. Both teams will be coming off of midweek games in the CONCACAF Champions League with Houston earning a 0-0 draw against W Connection in Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday, while the Impact suffered a 1-0 defeat on Wednesday to Heredia. Montreal snapped a two-match losing skid last weekend by topping D.C. United, 2-1, but the club also lost head coach Marco Schallibaum for the next two games. Schallibaum received a two-match suspension on Friday from the league after he was ejected from the United game for the third time this season. The suspension means that the coach will not be on the sidelines for the Houston game or next weekends match at Philadelphia. "I made a mistake," Schallibaum told reporters on Monday after being ejected. "I also told my team that I should be an example in many respects - Im the leader of this team after all - and that I did something that wasnt right. I was punished and went off earlier than the others. I take full responsibility." Like Houston, Montreal also got one of its top scorers back on track recently as Marco Di Vaio scored both goals in the Impacts win over D.C., his first goals since July 3. Los Angeles Galaxy at Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver, BC (Sports Network) - Vancouver Whitecaps FC will be pleased to be returning home as the club faces the Los Angeles Galaxy at BC Place on Saturday. Watch the action live on TSN2 beginning at 9pm et/6pm pt. Vancouver has lost three of its last five games to drop into a tie for fifth place, including a 2-0 defeat at Colorado last weekend. The Whitecaps are still only one point back of Los Angeles ahead of Saturdays game, but a win or loss in that match could result in potentially dramatic different places in the standings. A win could move Vancouver as high as second place, while a defeat could drop the Whitecaps as far down the table as eighth place. With point being so valuable this time of year, Vancouver will be pleased to be returning home, where the team has already beaten the Galaxy once this season while amassing a record of 8-1-3 at BC Place this season. The Galaxy collected two wins in the past week to boost their confidence, starting with a 4-2 victory in league play against Real Salt Lake before a 2-0 win over Cartagines in midweek in CONCACAF Champions League play. After falling behind 1-0 early in the second half, Robbie Keane netted a hat trick and Omar Gonzalez scored as well to lead a furious rally. "He [Keane] can do that on any given night, which is crazy to say but if we give him the ball in the right spots hes going to make those plays. He was terrific," said Galaxy forward Landon Donovan. It was the second hat trick of the season for Keane, who has formed a nice partnership with Donovan since the American returned to the lineup. The Galaxys offensive ability was on full display in the second half, although Donovan believes his team has the capability to score goals on any given night. "Weve had a number of games this season where weve dominated in a lot of ways, weve put 20-plus shots on the scorecard and weve had a number of chances to score goals, and some nights weve scored three or four and some nights we dont," said Donovan. Four of the next five games for the Galaxy will be against Western Conference playoff contenders, so if the offense is able to click at the right time, it would be a big boost for the defending champions. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- After waiting 20 years to meet in the playoffs, the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks provided an overtime thriller in the opening tussle for Southern California supremacy. Marian Gaborik scored with seven seconds left in regulation to force overtime, and then scored 12:07 into the extra period to lift the Kings to a 3-2 victory Saturday night. Wresting home-ice advantage from the Ducks comes after the Kings staged a memorable comeback against San Jose, becoming the fourth NHL team to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first three games. "It was awesome. Really, it was what you expect," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "It was a physical game. I think the crowd really responded to that." Gaborik redirected Anze Kopitars shot past Jonas Hiller for the winner before being mobbed in the corner by his teammates. "We did a good job on the forecheck," Gaborik said. "The puck got to Kopi, he saw me driving to the net, and made a nice play. I just tried to tip it in." Gaborik "is a big reason that we won the first round, and if he hadnt finished some of those opportunities it would have only gone six," Sutter said. "If you look at both those goals, those are classic goals. You got to go to the net to score in the playoffs. "Doesnt matter if we pull the goalie, still got to go to the net. Not many guys can score those goals, but you still got to go to the net." Hiller said the Kings "suddenly had a 2-on-1 out of nowhere. It was a shot-pass that went off the post and off my back and in. Its too bad. We had a couple chances in OT to finish it, but at the end its still a 1-0 series. We need to focus on the next game and learn from this. We have room for improvement." The Ducks and their fans -- who got to chant "Beat LA!" for the first time in the post-season -- appeared poised for a win after 43-year-old Teemu Selanne beat Jonathan Quick between the pads for a go-ahead goal with 11:52 to play in regulation. It was the first goal and fourth point of the playoffs for the Finnish Flash, who plans to retire at seasons end. But the Kings pullled Quick for a sixth attacker with 1:22 left.dddddddddddd. In the closing seconds, Mike Richards took a shot from along the left boards, and Gaborik wristed the rebound past Hiller, who slumped in the net after giving up the tying goal. "They just threw it at the net," Hiller said. "I thought I got a piece of it, but it got up in the air and he batted it out of the air back door. We werent strong enough. We were too passive there." Gaborik also had an assist on L.A.s first goal of the night. Quick, who led the Kings to their only Stanley Cup championship two years ago, came up big several times in overtime. Even when he didnt, the Kings held off the Ducks. Quick got out of position during one wild scramble and defenceman Alec Martinez jumped into the net until Quick recovered. "Unbelievable. It was a little chaotic. Probably owe him dinner there," Quick said. Their rinks just 30 miles apart, the Kings and Ducks have played each other 117 times in the regular season since Anaheim entered the NHL as a Disney-backed expansion franchise in 1993. They even met at Dodger Stadium in January, with the Ducks winning 3-0. But never in the playoffs, until Saturday night in Orange County. Game 2 is Monday night at Anaheim. The Ducks advanced after beating Dallas in overtime in Game 6 of their opening series. Martinez scored his first goal of the playoffs on a power play 9:04 into the game, beating Hiller on the glove side with a backhander after taking a pass from Gaborik from behind the net. Nick Bonino was in the penalty box for hooking. Anaheims Matt Belesky tied it less than three minutes later after a beauty of an assist by Ryan Getzlaf. Getzlaf skated into the Kings zone and behind the net, drawing Quick out of the crease. He passed to Belesky in the slot, who put home a wrister before Quick could get back into position. It was Beleskys second goal of the playoffs. Getzlaf, who also assisted on Selannes goal, has nine points in the playoffs. Hiller, a veteran who came in and saved Game 6 against Dallas -- and beat the Kings at Dodger Stadium -- got the start over 24-year-old Frederik Andersen. ' ' '