Ducks get fourth win in a row with 2-1 victory over Wild

When almost every good conventional scoring opportunity had failed the Ducks on Friday, they improvised their way to victory.

First, speedy forward Andrew Cogliano motored to a short-handed third-period goal to end Minnesota goalie Darcy Kuemper’s season-starting shutout streak at 163 minutes, 51 seconds.

Then, forward Corey Perry provided the winner in the 2-1 triumph with the ol’ steal-the-puck, smack-it-off-the-left-pad, take-a-pass and tap-it-in-the-corner shot.

“Not exactly the way we drew it up, but we’ll take the two points,” Perry said after his 51st career game-winning goal with 8:25 remaining in the third lifted the Ducks (4-1) to their fourth consecutive victory in their home opener at Honda Center.

“We knew we were only one shot away from tying the game up. We had some good opportunities early … keep putting the pressure on.”

Turning back pressure from the Wild (2-1) was also critical, as second-year goaltender Frederik Andersen won a fourth consecutive start for the first time in his career by stopping 27 of 28 shots — and all 19 after falling behind 1-0 early in the second period.

“It’s not really about who I’m playing against … [but] I knew Kuemper was coming in off two shutouts,” Andersen said. “We had to work hard. I just had to make the next save, keep them in the game, and the guys bailed me out. It was a two-way street. [I knew] we had a ton of goal scorers, I just wanted to keep them at one.”

Minnesota’s “one” came from forward Jason Zucker, who made it to the NHL after being raised on the few hockey rinks of Las Vegas. He skated by former Minnesota defenseman Clayton Stoner to slap a shot past the glove on Andersen’s left hand for the lead.

The despair heightened when a roughing penalty on Stoner put the Wild on the power play.

That’s when Cogliano struck, 4:02 into the third, for his ninth career short-handed goal.

“In those situations, you’re killing the penalty, but when chances break down, you go,” Cogliano said. “The more you can keep the power play on its heels, the more you have a chance of scoring. With my speed, it’s something I’m able to do, create those chances. And tonight was a big one.”

Cogliano dashed at Kuemper with the turnover and backhanded the shot past the goalie’s glove.

Kuemper’s Wild began the night with the opportunity to become the first team since the 1930-31 Toronto Maple Leafs to post shutouts in its first three games.

Through two periods, the bid remained alive as Kuemper’s denial of 17 Ducks shots kept him perfect through 63 sent at him in his first 160 minutes of the season.

The Wild might have extended the margin, but was sloppy on their finishes late in the period.

“At the end of the season, you’re going to play teams like this that won’t give you much,” Cogliano said. “The one who makes more mistakes loses the game.”