Corey Perry powers Ducks past Sabres

BUFFALO -- Corey Perry had two goals and an assist to pace the Anaheim Ducks to a 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Thursday.
Perry gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead with three seconds left in the first period and scored his 11th of the season at 10:11 of the third when he put a rebound past Sabres goalie Robin Lehner to help the Ducks end a three-game losing streak. Lehner made 39 saves.

WATCH: All Ducks vs. Sabres highlights
"That's more of vintage Corey Perry that we're accustomed to," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "He's had those opportunities but just hasn't been able to find the back of the net and tonight he found the back of the net twice and made a nice play to set up Rickard Rakell. Those are the things that he's done on a consistent basis in his career."
Perry had two goals in his past 12 games. He ended a six-game goal drought with his first multigoal game since Feb. 28, 2016 when he had a hat trick in a 4-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings.
"He's a wild card," Ducks forward Antoine Vermette said. "This is a dangerous player all his career, we know that. … He's got that knack around the net. … If he gets going we know how hot he can be and how dangerous he can be."

The Ducks (29-17-10) won for the first time during their six-game road trip (1-2-1).
The Sabres (22-22-10) have lost two of the past three games.
Sabres center Jack Eichel scored his 13th goal of the season on the power play 6:04 into the second period with a slap shot past Ducks goalie John Gibson that tied the game 1-1, but Perry set up Rakell for his 22nd goal 55 seconds into the third period to put the Ducks ahead 2-1. Gibson made 22 saves.
Vermette made it 3-1 at 5:46 with a power-play goal. With Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly off on a double-minor for high-sticking, Vermette deflected Brandon Montour's shot from the blue line past Lehner for his eighth goal.
Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen made it 4-2 with a backhand shot past Gibson at 18:22 for his fourth goal.
Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano scored an empty-net goal at 19:04.

Goal of the game

Rakell scored from a bad angle with a quick shot to beat Lehner.

Save of the game

Lehner made a glove save against Josh Manson on a 2-on-1 rush with Vermette against Ristolainen 5:04 into the first period.

Highlight of the game

On his first goal, Perry stole the puck from Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe and skated through and around the zone before beating Lehner through the five-hole.

Unsung performance of the game

Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler had an assist, seven shots on goal and blocked two shots in 22:50.

They said it

"We had things going our way early and that's what we needed, a big third period to close the win out. We played very well in New York in Madison Square Garden the other night [a 4-1 loss] and didn't get our reward. We didn't need that to happen twice to us."-- Ducks coach Randy Carlyle
"If the team's winning, I don't care. If we're struggling, then … it falls on the leaders' shoulders. That's when you have to step up and prove to everybody that you are a leader on this team and you're not going to accept what's going on. … This road trip wasn't kind to us so far and hopefully it gets us on the right foot." -- Ducks right wing Corey Perry
"You know what? I don't have the answer for you. Comeback victories, great momentum boosts, moral boosts or whatever. Comeback victories, they're called comebacks because we've put us in a hole. It's not all the time going to bounce that way. We get one on the power play at the end; it's just not enough time. Maybe if I don't let in the fourth, it'll be 3-2. … There's a lot of things in play, but in the end, 14-3 [shots against] and it's 4-1 in a 1-1 game. We can twist the facts as much as we want, it's just not good enough." -- Sabres goalie Robin Lehner

Need to know

It was the first time in Ducks history they recorded at least 44 shots on goal in consecutive games. … Carlyle missed the skate Thursday morning with an illness… Carlyle said Ryan Getzlaf received two or three stitches after he was cut by a high-stick from O'Reilly in the third. … It was the first time since Dec. 29 the Sabres failed to get a point at home. … Sabres forward Kyle Okposo extended his point streak to four games (two goals, two assists) with an assist on Eichel's goal.

What's next

Ducks: At the Washington Capitals on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET; CSN-DC, FS-W, NHL.TV)
Sabres: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, MSG-B, NHL.TV)