Corey Perry recorded his fourth career hat trick and Teemu Selanne scored twice as the Anaheim Ducks avoided falling into last place in the Western Conference with a 7-4 victory over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.
Saku Koivu added a goal and two assists and Bobby Ryan and defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky both set up a pair of tallies for the Ducks (12-22-6), who would have dropped behind the Blue Jackets (11-25-5) with a regulation loss.
Anaheim has now won back-to-back games for the first time since October.
After backup Curtis Sanford shut out the Los Angeles Kings in a 1-0 win on Saturday afternoon, Columbus elected to go back to struggling starter Steve Mason on Sunday night.
Mason lasted just one period as Anaheim jumped out quickly. Andrew Cogliano caught Mason out of the crease on a rebound and knocked it up over the goalie for a 1-0 lead 2:14 into the contest.
Perry’s first tally made it 2-0 with 6:58 left in the period and Selanne and Koivu would each score in the final two minutes of the period to give the Ducks a 4-1 lead at the first intermission.
The teams traded tallies in the second period, with Perry scoring his second goal on the power play. Selanne made it 6-2 early in the third and Perry capped the night with an empty-net tally.
It wasn’t all good news for Anaheim as top goaltender Jonas Hiller was forced out in the first period with an undisclosed injury.
Columbus | Anaheim | |
Rick Nash 2 | Points | Corey Perry 3 |
Rick Nash 2 | Goals | Corey Perry 3 |
Vinny Prospal 1 | Assists | Saku Koivu 2 |
Derick Brassard 1 | Power Play Goals | Corey Perry 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Curtis Sanford .800 | Save Percentage | Jonas Hiller .875 |
Steve Mason 12 | Saves | Jonas Hiller 7 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Columbus | 18 | 4 | 1-3 | 3-5 | 40 | 32 |
Anaheim | 27 | 7 | 2-5 | 2-3 | 29 | 19 |