LOS ANGELES – Corey Perry scored his 37th goal 1:32 into overtime, Ray Emery made 31 saves in his second straight victory and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in the 100th Freeway Faceoff on Saturday night.
Rookie Brandon McMillan scored in the first period for the Ducks, who gave up a tying goal with 8:56 left in regulation to Kings captain Dustin Brown.
Anaheim earned its seventh win in nine games when rookie defenseman Cam Fowler got the puck to Perry in full stride with a long pass to mid-ice. Perry beat Jonathan Quick for the All-Star forward's sixth goal in four games.
The Ducks pulled into a ninth-place tie with Calgary in the Western Conference standings with 73 points. The clubs meet at Honda Center on Sunday night.
Emery was outstanding against the Ducks' local rivals in just his second start for Anaheim, which signed him last month to fill in for injured All-Star Jonas Hiller. The longtime Ottawa netminder has allowed only two goals in his first seven periods with Anaheim, although he fell just short of his 12th career shutout.
Quick stopped 23 shots for the fifth-place Kings, who have lost two straight after a perfect four-game trip. Los Angeles still earned its 86th point to move ahead of Dallas.
Los Angeles and Anaheim met for the first time on Dec. 2, 1993, with the Kings winning 3-2 on two goals by Jari Kurri. Both Southern California clubs have a strong chance this spring to qualify for the playoffs in the same season for the first time — and this result helped both teams.
The rivals will meet in back-to-back games to conclude the regular season in three weeks.
The Ducks scored late in the first period when a dump-in pass by Dan Sexton bounced crazily on the terrible Staples Center ice, ricocheting away from Jack Johnson and landing in front of McMillan. The speedy rookie forward skated past Johnson and beat Quick for his 10th goal.
Quick stopped Jason Blake on a breakaway after Drew Doughty fumbled the puck for Los Angeles in the opening minute of the second period. Wayne Simmonds' apparent goal for the Kings was then waved off when Alexei Ponikarovsky was called for goaltender interference after driving to the net, although Ponikarovsky appeared to be checked into Emery by Ducks defenseman Luca Sbisa.
Emery patrolled his crease with more aggression after that, checking Justin Williams to the ice during a power play late in the period.
Brown scored his 23rd goal moments after a power play ended, banging the puck into an open net after Michal Handzus fired it onto his tape with an exceptional pass from the boards.
Kings forward Dustin Penner faced the Ducks for the first time since returning to Southern California, where he won the Stanley Cup alongside Perry and Ryan Getzlaf with Anaheim in 2007. Penner then signed an exorbitant offer sheet with Edmonton, which traded him to Los Angeles last month.
NOTES: The Kings wore their Forum-blue-and-gold vintage uniforms while honoring Hall of Famer Bob Pulford, the former Kings player and coach. Quick also wore tan-colored pads in another retro nod. ... Los Angeles scratched LW Kyle Clifford, who didn't return after a fight in the first period of Thursday's loss to St. Louis. Coach Terry Murray said Clifford had a black eye, but his injury is "nothing out of the ordinary." ... Five for Fighting singer John Ondrasik attended the game. The Los Angeles native is a lifelong Kings fan who yelled out "Go Kings!" after performing at last month's Heritage Classic in Calgary's McMahon Stadium.
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