Ducks hold on to beat Blackhawks 2-1

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Corey Perry and Chris Kunitz scored in the first and last minutes of the opening period, leading the Anaheim Ducks to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night.

Rookie Johan Hiller made 20 saves in his seventh NHL start, sending Chicago to its fourth straight loss and helping the Ducks beat the Blackhawks for the 11th time in 12 meetings. The only loss came in a shootout.

For the third time on this three-game road trip, the Blackhawks allowed a goal during the first minute of a period. Perry scored just 16 seconds after the opening faceoff, playing a carom off the end boards and beating Nikolai Khabibulin from the edge of the crease after a one-timer by Sean O'Donnell whistled past the left post.

Kunitz, who had two goals against the Blackhawks in a 5-3 win Dec. 7 in Chicago, made it 2-0 on a power play just 47 seconds before the first intermission. He redirected Perry's 15-foot backhander past Khabibulin's stick for his 13th goal while Kris Versteeg was off for hooking.

Patrick Sharp got Chicago on the board at 1:56 of the second period, scoring his 21st goal and seventh in eight games from just outside the crease. He already has two more goals than he had in 80 games last season.

Hiller (3-3-1) signed as a free agent with Anaheim last May after four seasons with Davos of the Swiss National League, where he was a combined 80-52 with 10 ties, a 2.53 goals-against average and 16 shutouts. He began the season with the Ducks, beating the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 in his NHL debut on Sept. 30 in London while Jean-Sebastien Giguere was recovering from offseason hernia surgery. Hiller was promoted from Portland of the AHL on Nov. 16 when backup Ilya Bryzgalov was placed on waivers.

Khabibulin lost for the eighth time in his last nine starts against the Ducks despite making 30 saves. His backup, Patrick Lalime, is 6-1-0 with a 2.01 goals-against average in seven career starts against Anaheim -- the most recent coming in October 2005 with St. Louis.