ANAHEIM—A win for the Ducks keep them neck and neck with the Sharks for first place. In a situation where every point counts to determine the division leader at the end, Anaheim’s 6-2 beating of the Florida Panthers show they still mean business.

After losing toSan Josewhere both teams were tied, their fight to get back on top began with the Panthers who are just trying to end the season. Knowing their weakness, the Ducks opened the game in a competition with the Panthers defense as they made early turnovers to get more time with the puck.

Ducks netminder Jonas Hiller made key stops on Florida’s shots to help turn the pace to his offense. They began building a pass play in the Panthers end that finished with Patrick Maroon getting the Ducks on the board. Ryan Getzlaf’s pass out front to Maroon gave the left winger his seventh of the season and the opening lead. Their break away early didn’t stop Florida from attacking Hiller in the net. The final two minutes saw the Swiss goaltender dealing with five shots in the last two minutes holding the Panthers scoreless through 20 minutes.

With Getzlaf just two points from 600 in his career, he and the Ducks first line got right to work in the second helping Teemu Selanne score a centering shot. This gave Finn his ninth just 15 seconds in. A bad turnover while shorthanded went Anaheim’s way as Jakob Silfverberg skated alone toward Florida goaltender Dan Ellis, to backhand the shot behind to go up 3-0.

Three goals were allFloridawould allow to go unanswered as they pulled out all the stops to make it a game. Jimmy Hayes got his team on the board as he tipped in the puck from Krys Barch’s drive through traffic for Haye’s 10th on the year. Tomas Fleischmann made it a one goal margin midway through the period on a wrap around started by Vincent Trocheck that slid across the other end of the net to give the Florida left winger his eighth.

Despite the tremendous comeback, the Ducks offense that has been viewed this season was far from finished as they opened the gap on Kyle Palmieri’s 12th where teammate Mathieu Perreault fell while moving the puck forward giving Palmieri a chance to get the puck across the line. Forward Corey Perry made it 5-2 on a play where Perry fell to his knees giving the puck a little movement to notch his team leading 37th. The Ducks outshot Florida 18-14 and with one period left a strong defense seen playing against the Panthers would assuredly follow.

The solid team play from Anaheim caused the Florida squad to begin falling apart in the third period as they allowed another goal to create a historic moment at Honda Center. Getzlaf was awarded his 30th goal of the season on a centering drive through Ellis that also recorded his 600th career point in the NHL. He became just the third Duck player to reach the milestone and his first goal since playing for Team Canada in the Olympics.

A four goal lead was more than what the Panthers could make a comeback from. They were held to four shots for the remainder of the game putting the Ducks one point behindSan Jose. The win gave Hiller 28 saves with a .933 save percentage. With just 11 games left and the Ducks playing the next three on the road Anaheim should expect a long homestretch with their rivals in Nor Cal.

By Rudy Martinez