Ray Emery gets best of his former team, and Ducks lose again

CHICAGO — Former Ducks goaltender Ray Emery stopped 24 shots, and Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa each had a goal and an assist as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Ducks, 4-1, on Friday night for their fourth straight win.

Jamal Mayers and Dave Bolland also scored for Chicago, which moved into a first-place tie with Minnesota in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks, 6-0-1 in their last seven games, and the Wild have 44 points.

Emery, who came back from hip surgery and led the Ducks into the playoffs last season after Jonas Hiller was sidelined because of vertigo symptoms, faced his former team for the first time since signing as a free agent with Chicago just before this season.

“He did an unbelievable job in a tough situation [last season] with Hillsie [Hiller] being out,” Ducks forward Bobby Ryan said. “He just went out and played and really made quite a run for us and did great things in the playoffs.

“It’s nice to see him find a home. Of course he’s just beaten us, but he certainly was a well-respected guy in the room.”

Emery lost a bid for his first shutout since Feb. 1, 2010 — when he was with Philadelphia — when Teemu Selanne scored with 1 minute 47 seconds left in the third period.

Emery, who has taken over for struggling No. 1 goaltender Corey Crawford, started and won for the fourth consecutive game. He has played in six games in a row, including five starts.

“I don’t take anything for granted,” Emery said. “You never know how things are going to go. If you expect something and you’re not willing to work for it, you usually don’t get it.

“So it’s one game at a time. Every time I go in there, I try to do my best.”

Crawford has not played since a start Dec. 5 against Phoenix when he was pulled early in the second period after giving up three goals on 16 shots.

Sharp extended his point streak to eight games, a span in which he has seven goals and five assists.

Hiller made 20 saves for the Ducks, who are 2-4-1 under new Coach Bruce Boudreau and are 14th in the 15-team Western Conference.

Meanwhile, Emery was not heavily tested Friday by the listless Ducks, who generated little offense in their first stop on a five-game trip. The Ducks won’t play at Honda Center again until Dec. 29.

The Ducks didn’t sustain pressure against Chicago or create traffic in front of Emery. They fired wide on many first attempts.

“The net is four-by-six” feet, Boudreau said. “I’m assuming they’re trying to pick, like, two-inch circles instead of shooting at the net, going to the net and getting a rebound.

“When you have trouble scoring, you can’t shoot at minute, little areas.”

The Ducks weren’t planting themselves in prime scoring areas, let alone fighting to stay there.

“Other than the goal that we scored, we really didn’t have guys behind their defense,” Ryan said. “They were doing a good job out in the slot, making sure Razor [Emery] saw the puck all night.”

Mayers scored the only goal of the first period 6:37 in when he surprised Hiller with a backhand attempt from the right side of the net. Mayer lofted the puck from a sharp angle, and it struck Hiller’s arm and found its way into the net.

Hossa made it 2-0 just 1:07 into the second period when he was left open in the slot. Sharp slid the puck to Hossa, who swept a backhand shot between Hiller’s pads.

Bolland’s power-play goal with 2:51 left in the second made it 3-0.

Defenseman Nick Leddy carried the puck deep into the Ducks zone along the left wing boards, then passed to Bolland, who was open in the high slot. Bolland fired the puck through traffic and past Hiller.

Sharp made it 4-0 midway through the third with his 17th of the season. He beat Hiller with a high shot from the slot after slipping through a pack of defenders.

Selanne ended Emery’s shutout bid when he was left alone at the right side of the net and scored off a cross-crease pass from Niklas Hagman.

Etc.

Ducks center Saku Koivu sat out his third game because of a groin injury.