Ducks 4, Kings 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Right winger Corey Perry scored three goals and added an assist to lead the Anaheim Ducks to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday night in front of a sellout crowd of 17,174 at the Honda Center.
Left winger David Perron added his 11th goal and goalie John Gibson stopped 27 shots as the Ducks (34-19-8) earned their eighth consecutive victory and moved within two points of the first-place Kings in the Pacific Division.
Defenseman Alec Martinez and left winger Tanner Pearson scored for Los Angeles (37-21-4), which saw its four-game winning streak end despite 25 saves from goalie Jonathan Quick.
Perry used his third goal of the game and his 26th of the season to break a 2-2 tie just 1 minute, 27 seconds into the final period. After receiving a pass from defenseman Sami Vatanen, Perry fired a low wrist shot that Quick blocked with his skate. But as Quick tried to grab the puck, it popped loose. Perry then pounced on it and jammed it inside the right post.
The hat trick was Perry's ninth in his career and his first since Jan. 14, 2015, against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Then at 5:53, Perry helped Perron extend the lead with the Ducks' third power-play goal. Perry used his stick to block a pass from Kings center Nick Shore and backhanded the puck to Perron, who sent a wrist shot under the crossbar six seconds after center Tyler Toffoli went to the penalty box.
The Ducks used Perry's first power-play goal to take a 1-0 lead at 16:48 of the first period, 26 seconds after Shore was called for interference.
Vatanen played a pivotal role by faking a shot from the top of the slot, forcing Kings right winger Dustin Brown to commit to a block with his stick. Vatanen then passed to Perry, who skated from the right circle and sent a wrist shot under the crossbar.
Los Angeles responded with its own power-play goal nearly three minutes later, when Martinez fired a slap shot from edge if the left circle 24 seconds after defenseman Simon Despres went to the penalty box for tripping Brown. Defenseman Drew Doughty set up Martinez's goal by faking a slap shot that froze Anaheim right winger Jakob Silfverberg before passing to Martinez.
The Kings used Pearson's 11th goal to break a 1-1 tie at 9:52 of the second period on an unusual play that began when Gibson backhanded the puck from behind the net to Despres in the left corner. Despres tried to pass the puck to Vatanen behind the net but it took an awkward bounce off the boards. Gibson lost sight of the puck, which fell in front of the crease to Pearson, who whacked it inside the left post.
But with 2 minutes, 3 seconds left, Perry scored his second power-play goal to make it 2-2. Defenseman Cam Fowler's shot ricochet off the glass behind the net to Perry, who stuffed the puck inside the left post for his team-leading 25th goals.
NOTES: RW Kris Versteeg was acquired by the Kings from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for RW Valentin Zykov and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2016 on Sunday night. Versteeg, 29, has played in 63 games with the Hurricanes this year, scoring 11 goals while adding 33 assists. ... Los Angeles scratched LW Andy Andreoff and D Jamie McBain. The Kings placed C Jordan Nolan on injured reserve due to an undisclosed injury. ... Anaheim scratched D Korbinian Holzer, D Clayton Stoner and C Harry Zolnierczyk.