Corey Perry’s hat trick lifts Ducks over Maple Leafs, 4-0

A wealth of practice time moved the Ducks closer to perfection Wednesday.

Right wing Corey Perry scored a hat trick, goalie Frederik Andersen and his defensemen secured their first shutout since Oct. 28, and the Ducks rolled to a 4-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Honda Center.

“It makes a coach feel good,” Coach Bruce Boudreau said. “No game is perfect … but eventually you mold it … that was as good a game as we’ve had for awhile.”

Of the Ducks’ previous 11 victories at home, each had been by one goal, tying an NHL record.

They sought a more comfortable margin of victory, with Boudreau believing the key was more practice, afforded in a January schedule with 20 days off.

“We just tried to keep it simple — get the puck in deep, get some shots, and we got the score,” said defenseman Sami Vatanen, who helped the Ducks end a losing streak against Toronto at six games.

Although Boudreau said before the game he didn’t want to obsess on his team routing a Toronto team that fell to 3-10 in a skid that included the firing of coach Randy Carlyle, the night’s happenings saw to it.

With a one-goal lead, the Ducks’ sharpened attention to defense helped them keep the Maple Leafs without a scoring chance for a 13-minute span into the second period.

Perry then unleashed one of five shots he had through two periods and the puck skidded off defenseman Cody Franson’s right skate between the legs of goalie Jonathan Bernier.

In Toronto’s 6-2 victory over the Ducks on Dec. 16 at Air Canada Center, Bernier had 40 saves.

The Maple Leafs are badly laboring and the Ducks seized a 3-0 lead when center Ryan Getzlaf backhanded a long pass from the boards off Franson’s stick to Perry, who had sprinted past the defense.

“Trying to get back in the swing of things,” said Perry, whose 18th goal of the season was launched into an empty net with 1 minute 7 seconds to play, giving him eight career hat tricks.

After opening the season with 11 goals in 13 games, Perry sat out five games in November because of the mumps and was sidelined 10 games in December because of a sprained knee.

“Tonight, I was skating a lot better than I had been,” Perry said. “Everything’s starting to be 100%. It’s all about feeling solid, confident. That’s how I feel now.”

Boudreau designated the team’s pregame goals leader, Matt Beleskey, a healthy scratch after demoting him from the second to the fourth line in practices Monday and Tuesday.

Beleskey, with 17 goals, has two goals in his last nine games, but was minus-two while on the ices in the last two games.

“Sometimes, you get in a rut, and it’s better to watch a game,” Boudreau said.

Forward Kyle Palmieri slammed in a first-period shot that struck the inside roof of the goal and caromed out so fast, the shot wasn’t originally ruled a goal.

When defenseman Hampus Lindholm quickly followed with a blue-linegoal, avideo review revealed it was Palmieri’s goal that counted 12:41 into the game.