COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -Things weren't going well for the Anaheim Ducks, so they hit the road to find themselves.
Teemu Selanne scored a power-play goal with 3:55 left, helping the Anaheim Ducks beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Monday night. The victory capped a string of four straight road wins in seven nights, three of them one-goal games.
"I'm very happy about the road trip," Selanne said. "Obviously when you win four in a row you know you've done something good. This wasn't pretty tonight. We were grinding pretty much the whole game. But I always think the last game of a road trip is always the toughest one because the food is in the plane and you're about ready to go home."
Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf each had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who for only the second time in franchise history swept a road trip of four games or longer. After an 0-4-0 start, the Ducks have won five of their last six.
"There was a lot at stake for our hockey club to get back to .500," coach Randy Carlyle said after his team evened its record at 5-5-0. "After a rough start, now we're at .500. ... We're just going to savor this for about 10 minutes."
Jean-Sebastian Giguere had 30 saves for Anaheim.
"We've got too much talent and character in this dressing room," Giguere said. "Guys fought hard to get their game back together."
Jiri Novotny and Derrick Brassard gave the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead through two periods before 10,494, the smallest NHL crowd ever at Nationwide Arena.
"For us to win we had to play 60 minutes, full out, of great hockey and we played 50 minutes," Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock said. "It's not good enough - you've got to win games 2-1."
The Ducks pulled even at the 9:19 mark of the third when Steve Montador's shot from the right point was redirected by Perry for his second of the year.
Columbus goaltender Fredrik Norrena stopped Francois Beauchemin's shot, but the rebound went right to Selanne on the left side and he beat Norrena inside the near post for the game-winner.
Getzlaf needed just 1:17 to get the Ducks on the board. Columbus forward Michael Peca tried to push the puck along the back wall but Corey Perry deflected it, with Chris Kunitz putting up a shot that Norrena stopped. The rebound, however, went to Getzlaf who had an empty net in front of him for his third of the year.
Shut out in his first six games, Getzlaf now has goals in the last three. Kunitz and Perry both extended their points streaks to four games with assists.
Anaheim was controlling the action when it went on the power play shortly after the start - not much of an advantage for the Ducks, who were 0-fo-13 while losing their first four games.
Late in the kill, Columbus tied it when Andrew Murray took a long pass behind the defense and got off two shots that Giguere swept aside. Murray then continued behind the net, took the puck from Beauchemin and slid a centering pass to Novotny in the slot for a one-timer with 2 seconds left in the Anaheim power play.
Just 37 seconds into the second period, the Blue Jackets took a 2-1 lead.
From the back boards, Jason Chimera flipped a backhanded centering pass to Brassard who buried the one-timer from the slot for his third goal of the season. Brassard, a rookie, has points in seven of his nine games.
"I hope they are, like I am, frustrated," Hitchcock said. "To play this well and give it away, I'd be frustrated."
Notes: The Blue Jackets put goalie Pascal Leclaire on injured reserve with a sprained ankle just before the game. He's expected to be out for a week. ... Selanne has points in his last three games. ... RW Jared Boll had missed the last five games with a possible concussion before rejoining Columbus before the game.
