Big goals by Ducks' big scorer

Corey Perry and linemates Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf weren't everywhere on the ice Saturday at the United Center ... it just seemed like it.

Because every time you looked up, the trio was dominating the action against the Blackhawks, especially in the third period when the Anaheim winger scored not only the game-tying goal but the game-winner as well to lead the Ducks to a come-from-behind 2-1 victory in a game deemed the most important of the season by Hawks coach Joel Quenneville.

“Corey Perry finds a way to score big goals,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said in the understatement of the evening.

League-leading goals No. 43 and 44 couldn't have come at a more opportune time for Perry and the Ducks, who came into Saturday's showdown 1 point behind the Blackhawks and left a point ahead and in seventh place overall in the West.

“It was huge; this whole road trip was huge for us,” said Perry, who has scored 8 goals in his last five games. “We got what we wanted. We came in and got 2 points against a team we were chasing. It puts us a point ahead and we're climbing in the standings.”

Perry was on the ice for more than 25 minutes Saturday as Carlyle threw everything he could at the Blackhawks, and in the third period it paid off when his big guns finally connected.

“We've been playing a few minutes, sure, but it's nothing new,” Perry said. “It's playoff hockey and we're fighting for our lives. We know what it takes to win. We've been there, the Hawks have been there. It's that extra gear that people find and move forth.

“We want to be in the playoffs and as high in the standings as possible. We're pushing for every inch on the ice and every 2 points every night.”

But even after grabbing a 2-1 lead with just a few minutes remaining, it took until the game had been over for a while for Carlyle to catch his breath.

“By no means were we comfortable at any point in this game,” he said, shaking his head.

And he and his troops know it'll remain that way until the regular season comes to an end and the wild West is finally settled one way or another.

“It's crazy,” Perry said. “But that's the way the system is with these 3-point games, everybody's always in it.”