Ducks Vs. Wild: Anaheim Gets Clutch Effort At Minnesota In 2-1 Win

Corey Perry's third-period marker and Jonas Hiller's late game saves propelled the Anaheim Ducks to a hard-fought 2-1 road win at Minnesota Tuesday. The win gave the Ducks five out of a possible six points on their current eight-game road trip, which continues Wednesday night at Pittsburgh.

The Anaheim Ducks got off to a slow start, but thanks to some clutch performances from their best players, they were able to take home two points in a 2-1 win on the road against the Minnesota Wild Tuesday. Josh Harding did his best to hold the Ducks back, but Jonas Hiller was one better than his goalie counterpart.

Anaheim is currently on an eight-game road trip. As expected, they came out a little slow: the Ducks' 10th ranked penalty kill gave up a goal to the Wild at just the 3:56 mark of the first period. While Dany Heatley's good positioning with the man-advantage got the early goal and momentum, Anaheim started to buzz toward the end of the frame.

The Ducks were unable to find the back of the net, despite outshooting the Wild 15-9 by the end of two periods. The Wild were steadily catching up to the Ducks in blocked shots and won more faceoffs -- until the 8:17 mark of the third when Niklas Hagman took advantage of Minnesota's defensive zone turnover and hacked away at his own rebound until it went behind Harding. Just over four minutes later, Corey Perry scored his 27th goal of the season, as he picked his spot and put it away.

Within the last minute of the game, the Wild gained possession of the puck and pulled Harding to begin the late-game barrage. Unfortunately for Minnesota, it was "Hiller-Time," and the Ducks escaped with a 2-1 victory to win their first game when trailing after two periods this season.

Anaheim is now 2-0-1 after game three of eight on the road. They will play the very next day in Pittsburgh, which is also a hot team, to continue their efforts to climb into the playoff race.