Corey Perry rallies Ducks to 2-1 victory over Blackhawks

It wasn’t the ideal situation for the Ducks, trailing by a goal going into the third period on the road against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Or maybe it was.

Corey Perry continued his torrid play, scoring twice in the final period as the Ducks upended the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1, on Saturday at the United Center. Perry moved into the NHL scoring lead with 44 goals and the Ducks passed Chicago for seventh place in the Western Conference.

Even better, they are three points ahead of ninth-place Dallas with only seven games left in the regular season.

It was also the Ducks’ sixth consecutive one-goal game and their fifth win in that span.

“It’s not where you want to be, but we were comfortable with how we were playing,” Ryan Getzlaf said of trailing after two periods. “It was just a matter of staying with our system and getting the puck to [Perry], I guess.”

The top line of Perry, Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan again came through. After being held off the scoreboard for the first two periods, they combined for six points in the third.

“If you look at the size of the players, the skills of the players and the compete level of the players that make up that line, we think it’s pretty dynamic,” Coach Randy Carlyle said. “And they proved tonight they are quite capable of leading our hockey club.”

Perry logged a team-high 25 minutes 13 seconds, while Getzlaf was next with 24:57. Perry played 21:06. The line played eight of the final 20 minutes. Despite all that ice time, they did not appear to be winded.

“Randy puts us out in those key situations,” said Perry, who increased his league-best third-period goal total to 20 while extending his scoring streak to five games. “If we’re down a goal, he’s going to play the line that’s playing [well].

“This is playoff hockey and you have to do anything to win. We’re pushing for every inch on the ice and every two points every night.”

Marian Hossa put the Ducks in a 1-0 hole at 13:24 of the first with his 22nd goal of the season. Hossa ripped a one-timer past Ray Emery after a fortunate deflection along the boards sent the puck directly to Hossa in the slot.

Perry tied it by completing a three-on-two rush with a backdoor tip of a Getzlaf pass at 1:07 of the third. The line then combined for the game-winner at 15:30 when Perry lofted a shot past rookie Corey Crawford, who made 23 saves.

Emery finished with 27 saves in improving to 4-0 since signing as a free agent with the Ducks on Feb. 7.

“This is my favorite time of year,” Emery said. “I like games that count — I like playing, period, especially after having as much time off as I did. When I get a chance to play I want to contribute.”

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