Ducks tied for first in Pacific after defeating Jets

ANAHEIM-- The Anaheim Ducks are tied for first place in the Pacific Division after a 3-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Honda Center on Friday.
The Ducks (40-23-11) were nine points behind the San Jose Sharks on March 15 and are 4-0-1 since then. The Sharks have lost five in a row in regulation, including 6-1 to the Dallas Stars on Friday.

The Sharks hold the tiebreaker advantage with 40 regulation/overtime wins; the Ducks have 37. They each have eight games remaining but don't play each other. The Edmonton Oilers are two points back.
WATCH: All Jets vs. Ducks highlights
"Climbing in the right direction, for sure," Anaheim defenseman Cam Fowler said. "We're finding ways to win hockey games."
Andrew Cogliano and Corey Perry each scored his 15th goal of the season for the Ducks, and Jakob Silfverberg scored into an empty net for his NHL career-high 21st. Jonathan Bernier made 17 saves and is 9-2-1 with a .940 save percentage since taking over for injured John Gibson.
"He had to be sharp in the first period," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said of Bernier. "You need him to give you a chance, and he did just that."

Cogliano made it 2-1 with his first goal in 11 games at 16:32 of the second period. Ryan Kesler took the puck behind the net and passed to Cogliano on the opposite side. He tried to pass the puck out front to Silfverberg, but it hit the stick of Winnipeg defenseman Jacob Trouba, who was in front of the crease. The puck then hit Trouba's body and ricocheted into the net.
Perry gave Anaheim a 1-0 lead at 17:17 of the first period. He skated up the left wall with his back to the Winnipeg net, cut into the middle inside the blue line, and maintained possession as he went above the circles. He took a wrist shot that hit the left corner of the net as Antoine Vermette jostled for position in front with Jets defenseman Adam Lowry.
Winnipeg (33-35-7) tied it 1-1 at 6:08 of the second period when Josh Morrissey tipped in a point shot from Blake Wheeler on the power play.
"We did a good job of putting a bad bounce behind us and kept battling," said Winnipeg goalie Michael Hutchinson, who made 32 saves.

Goal of the game

The second of three power plays for the Jets was winding down when Mathieu Perreault passed to Wheeler inside the blue line. He took the shot, and Morrissey scored with three seconds left on the man-advantage.

Save of the game

The Ducks led 2-1 and were on the penalty kill midway through the third period when Morrissey received a pass in the left circle with time and space. Bernier slid over for the save at 9:43, the only shot on goal during the power play.

Highlight of the game

Tied 1-1 and with the Jets making their biggest push of the game, Winnipeg forward Joel Armia had an open side of the net to aim for, but Bernier stuck out his left pad and turned away the shot at 11:28 of the second period.

Unsung performance of the game

Ducks defensemen Korbinian Holzer and Brandon Montour played in the same game for the first time since Dec. 30. Montour had an assist and was plus-2, and Holzer helped limit the Jets to 18 shots on goal, their lowest total since taking 18 against the New York Rangers on Dec. 8.

They said it

"We battled pretty hard ... would have liked to come out with the win." -- Jets forward Josh Morrissey
"We had a good first period. Some big saves by [Bernier], a few mental mistakes that we can clean up, but a good start." -- Ducks forward Corey Perry

Need to know

Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien (lower body) was scratched after warmups and is day to day. Byfuglien, who leads Winnipeg defensemen with 12 goals and 36 assists, left in the third period of a 5-2 loss at the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. ... Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa missed his first game of the season after taking a high stick to his mouth in a 4-3 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. ... Trouba returned after missing five games with an upper-body injury. ... Silfverberg scored 20 goals last season. … The Ducks won their first game against a team that entered Friday outside a playoff spot since a 1-0 win against the Kings on Feb. 19. … The Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins are the only NHL teams with at least 40 wins in each of the past four seasons.

What's next

Jets: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; SN, NHL.TV)
Ducks: Host the New York Rangers on Sunday (9 p.m. ET; PRIME, MSG, NHL.TV)