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A blessing in disguise? Perry believes Ducks’ early-season struggles could pay off in playoffs

Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Tuukka Rask, Torey Krug

Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf, left, celebrates his winning goal with teammate Corey Perry (10) as Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) and defenseman Torey Krug (47) react in the overtime period of an NHL hockey game in Boston, Thursday, March 26, 2015. The Ducks won 3-2. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

AP

NASHVILLE -- Corey Perry still can’t explain how the Anaheim Ducks’ offense went so cold.

“I wish I had an answer for you,” he said today. “I’ve been asked this question a lot. I still don’t have an answer.”

Maybe it was just bad luck?

“Possibly,” he allowed. “You can say bad luck, you can use all the excuses in the world. It just wasn’t getting the job done.”

It sure wasn’t. The Ducks went 1-7-2 to start the season. They were shut out five times in those 10 October games. It was pretty shocking stuff. So, when things didn’t get much better in November, they turned to defense. Three times in December they won by a score of 1-0. Twice by 2-1.

Though the goals have finally started to come in January, Perry believes that the Ducks’ early struggles could pay off when the games really start to count -- in the playoffs.

“It’s definitely going to help us,” he said. “The way we’ve been playing lately, to get our wins we have to keep the team we’re playing to two goals or less. If you can do that in this league, you’re going to have a lot of chances to get wins.”

Case in point, when the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, the four games they won were by scores of 2-1, 2-1, 2-1, and 2-0.

“We’ve been asked a couple of times to see if we can win games 1-0, 2-1,” said Perry. “It’s definitely what the playoffs are all about.”