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Perry reaches 50 goals, Ducks stay above water in playoff race

Apr 7, 2011 - 6:53 AM Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - Corey Perry reached the 50-goal plateau in memorable fashion, capping his hat trick during Anaheim's four-goal second period to power the Ducks over the Pacific Division-champion San Jose Sharks, 6-2.

Perry, the league's leading goal scorer, added an assist for good measure, as the Ducks kept pace with the Chicago Blackhawks for seventh place in the Western Conference standings.

Both teams have two games remaining and hold a four-point advantage over Dallas, which is currently on the outside of the playoff picture but still has three games left to play.

Cam Fowler and Teemu Selanne each had a goal and an assist for the victors. Ray Emery left the game in the middle stanza for undisclosed reasons after allowing one goal on 23 shots, while Dan Ellis made 13 saves the rest of the way to preserve the win.

Antero Niittymaki yielded six goals on 34 shots in the loss, the Sharks' first in five games. San Jose remains the No. 2 seed in the West.

"It's frustrating, but hopefully it's for the better," Sharks forward Dany Heatley said of the loss. "We didn't come prepared tonight."

Perry's nifty backhand got the scoring started 12:58 into the game, and Fowler's slap shot late in the opening period was the first of four power-play goals for Anaheim.

At the 6:46 mark of the second, Perry split two defenders as he skated parallel to the crease, then went low with a forehand for his second goal of the game.

Dan Boyle's slap shot got the Sharks on the board two minutes later, but Perry responded with his 50th goal of the season when he re-directed Selanne's centering feed at 10:57 on the power play.

"It hasn't really sunk in ... It's an exciting number and hopefully there's more to come," Perry said of the accomplishment.

Less than two minutes after the hats were removed from the ice, Selanne put in his 29th goal of the season, and Jason Blake's 16th tally came with 4:44 remaining in the frame. Both scores came with the man advantage.

San Jose's Ben Eager capped the scoring 5:29 into the third.

Game Notes

Perry, who upped his point total to 97, has 19 goals over his last 14 games...The Ducks end the season with a home-and-home set against Los Angeles, starting at home on Friday...The Sharks wrap their regular season with a home- and-home set starting Friday at Phoenix...Ryan Getzlaf had four assists, while Bobby Ryan added three.