Perry piles up three points as Ducks dump Caps

[March 13, 2017]  ANAHEIM, Calif. -- As the Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin extended his offensive slump, the Anaheim Ducks' Corey Perry continued recovering from his own ineffective stretch.

Perry recorded two goals and an assist to lead the Ducks to a 5-2 win over the Capitals on Sunday night in front of a sellout crowd of 17,174 at the Honda Center.

After scoring just twice in a 17-game span, Perry now has three goals in his past three games.

"It was starting to come," Perry said. "It's all about going out and getting the puck, moving my feet, playing my game and doing the little things. It's a matter of time."

Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler each added a goal and two assists for the Ducks, who moved into second place in the Pacific Division by two points over the Calgary Flames. Rickard Rakell also scored for Anaheim (36-23-10), and goalie Jonathan Bernier stopped 25 shots.

As a result, Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle earned his 400th career victory.

"I thought we were playing really well," Perry said. "We were getting pucks to the net, getting traffic, and we're limiting our turnovers, which is what you have to do, especially against a team like that."

Meanwhile, Ovechkin failed to score against an opponent at even strength for the 18th consecutive game, the longest such streak of his career. Ovechkin has no goals in his past 10 games.

"There will be a lot made of him not scoring lately," Washington coach Barry Trotz said, "but he's skating and maybe he's playing better than he has in the long stretches where he was scoring this year. I know that he's worked hard on skating. He's getting chances, he's dangerous, and he's being hard to play against. It'll come."

John Carlson and Marcus Johansson scored for the Capitals, who took their fourth successive defeat, the team's longest losing streak since November 2014. Washington (44-17-7) got 27 saves from goalie Braden Holtby.

"We get slapped in the face a lot during the year," Carlson said. "You can pout about it or you can get over it and get better."

Perry's first goal broke a scoreless tie 4:52 into the second period. Perry stole Lars Eller's outlet pass from the left corner, drew Holtby toward him and deposited the puck behind him.

"That's the Corey Perry of old, coming out of the corner and finding a way to drive to the net," Carlyle said. "He's got a good set of hands, and he can make plays like that."

About two minutes before Perry scored, Bernier made a big save. Washington's Tom Wilson accelerated past defenseman Kevin Bieksa to create a one-on-one matchup with Bernier. However, the goalie used his right leg pad to block Wilson's backhand at the left post.

Ducks right wing Corey Perry (10) moves the puck in for a shot on goal against the Washington Capitals during the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Anaheim built a 3-0 lead when Perry and Rakell scored within 28 seconds in the middle of the second period. Perry deflected Ryan Kesler's wrist shot from the top of the slot inside the right post at 9:21 for his 14th goal of the season.

Then at 9:49, Rakell scored his team-leading 29th goal. After Ryan Getzlaf won a draw at the right faceoff circle in the Capitals' zone, Rakell swept a shot from that circle inside the right post.

Carlson used a power-play goal to narrow the deficit to 3-1. Justin Williams began the scoring sequence by winning the puck from the Ducks' Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson at the left corner in Anaheim's zone.

Williams sent a short pass to Nicklas Backstrom, who passed quickly to Carlson at the top of the right circle. Carlson fired a slap shot between Bernier's legs for his seventh goal of the season and his first in 12 games.

Getzlaf extended Anaheim's lead to 4-1 by converting a shot inside the left post on a power play 4:27 into the third period for his 13th goal. Just 30 seconds later, Johansson scored his 22nd of the season and the 100th of his career. Kesler's 20th goal ended the scoring at 12:42.

NOTES: Washington D Kevin Shattenkirk began serving his two-game suspension Sunday for charging into Los Angeles Kings D Kevin Gravel on Saturday night. ... The Capitals also scratched D Taylor Chorney. ... Anaheim C Antoine Vermette returned to the lineup following a 10-game suspension for slashing linesman Shandor Alphonso on Feb. 14. ... Ducks LW Nick Ritchie also returned after missing the team's two-game road trip due to an upper-body injury. ... Ducks G John Gibson is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. ... Besides Gibson, the Ducks scratched RW Jared Boll, D Korbinian Holzer and C Chris Wagner. ... The Ducks recalled G Jhonas Enroth from AHL San Diego. ... The Ducks commemorated the 10th anniversary of their Stanley Cup victory with a one-hour pregame ceremony featuring video highlights and live interviews with players from that team.

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