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Ducks rally in 3rd to top skidding Wild

Feb 15, 2012 - 4:21 AM St. Paul, MN (Sports Network) - Niklas Hagman and Corey Perry each netted a goal in the third period as the Anaheim Ducks rallied to take a 2-1 victory over the struggling Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center.

Jonas Hiller stopped 17-of-18 shots to lead the Ducks to their fourth win in their last five games.

Dany Heatley scored and Josh Harding made 23 saves as the Wild dropped their fifth straight game and their 21st over their last 26 contests.

The Wild notched their lone goal in the first period while on the power play when Marek Zidlicky sent a pass from the top of the right circle down to the left of the net, where Heatley redirected it past Hiller at the 3:56 mark.

"I think the first period we didn't play our best hockey. We were a little sloppy at times and it showed, obviously," Ducks forward Jason Blake said. "That's a good hockey club over there. They fight hard and they fight to the end."

Harding made five saves in the first period and 10 in the second, but the Ducks stormed back in the third.

Hagman knotted the game at one 8:17 into the final period when Minnesota's Mikko Koivu lost his handle on the puck inside his own zone, giving the disc right to Hagman all alone in front of the net. Hagman then flicked a backhander that trickled through Harding's pads before stuffing the puck into the net.

Then, at the 12:21 mark of the third, Perry grabbed a pass just inside the blue line and faked a slap shot from the right circle before moving towards the net and sending a wrister through the short side for the game-deciding goal.

The Wild put a flurry of shots at Hiller in the final minute after pulling their goaltender for the extra attacker, but Hiller blocked them all despite a tangle of bodies in front of the net to hang on for the win.

"When you lose a game, it's tough to find any positive things," said Koivu. "Sometimes [effort] is not enough. Sometimes you just have to come up with goals."

Game Notes

Heatley's goal was his 19th of the year, leaving him one goal shy of his seventh consecutive 20-goal season...Anaheim improved to 2-0-1 on a season- high eight-game road trip...The teams split the season series 2-2...Minnesota went 1-for-3 on the power play, while Anaheim went 0-for-4 with the man advantage.