Anaheim Ducks right wing Jakob Silfverberg (left) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Carolina Hurricanes. (USA Today Sports)

By Eric Stephens/The Orange County Register/MCT


It might be time for the Ducks to go streaking once again and that could be a scary prospect for their upcoming opponents. A day after losing to the Kings, the Carolina Hurricanes came into Honda Center desperately needing a win to try to view themselves as a team still in Stanley Cup playoff contention.
The Ducks needed 20 minutes to show that they’re on another level altogether.
Corey Perry scored twice and assisted on Francois Beauchemin’s goal in an overwhelming first period Sunday night as the NHL-leading Ducks raced to a 5-3 win in front of a sellout crowd at Honda Center.
It was the 18th time that the Ducks (43-14-5) scored five goals in a game and they’ve now won three in a row in a season full of winning streaks. The Ducks’ only trouble was staying focused after building a 5-0 lead before the game’s halfway point.
“That’s as well as we’ve played in the last little while (that) I can remember for sure,” Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said. “That first period, we were buzzing all over the place. Our (defensemen) were moving the puck up so quick.
“Everything was just transition back the other way.”
Perry started the first-period blitz when he slammed in a feed from Dustin Penner after the Ducks had several cracks at scoring against the overwhelmed Hurricanes on a rush.
Beauchemin then beat Carolina goalie Cam Ward with a slap shot that skipped off the stick of Carolina’s Jiri Tlusty. It was soon 3-0 as Perry scored again, his 32nd of the season, with a snap of a wrist shot past Ward after Cam Fowler forced a turnover.
With St. Louis also winning at Phoenix, the Ducks have a five-point lead over the Blues and Chicago in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy and kept a seven-point bulge on San Jose in the Pacific Division with 20 games remaining.
The Ducks snapped a four-game losing streak with a win at Nashville heading into the Olympic break and re-established their dominance at Honda Center with two straight to open a five-game homestand.
“Especially coming off the break, it’s nice to be home and get your feet under you again before you get on the road,” Perry said, with the Ducks now 24-5-2 at home. “It’s always nice when you’re in front of your home fans and playing here.
“I think that’s why we’ve had so much success this year.”
Andrew Cogliano, whose breakaway goal was the difference in a 1-0 win Friday over St. Louis, scored while shorthanded for the third time this season and his 19th goal represented a career high. Jakob Silfverberg also scored.
Frederik Andersen stopped 49 of the 52 shots he faced. Several of those were point blank with Andrej Sekera breaking the ice and then Patrick Dwyer and Alexander Semin scoring inconsequential goals in the third.
“He was fabulous tonight,” said Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, who got his 100th win with the club. “He did what he had to do. He kept the team in the game and he won the game for us.”

DECISION TIME
How deep are the Ducks? They got a goal from a silver medallist in Silfverberg who isn’t playing every day and have a bronze medalist in defenseman Sami Vatanen who is down in the minors.
And now they have a goalie in Andersen who’s 15-3 in his first NHL season possibly heading back to join Vatanen in the American Hockey League. The Ducks have quite a decision on their hands as Viktor Fasth is back from his AHL conditioning stint.
Fasth played four games with the Norfolk Admirals and got better with each as he appears to be recovered from lower-body muscle issues that have limited him to five games with the Ducks.