Ducks-Blue Jackets Preview

Corey Perry is playing so well that teams are resorting to all kinds of tactics to try to slow down the prolific winger.

Perry was bloodied but not beaten his last time out and looks to continue his strong production for the visiting Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Ducks top goal scorer with 21, Perry had two assists in Tuesday's 4-1 victory at Philadelphia to give him 10 points in a 7-1-0 surge.

That performance did not come without a price. Perry and the Flyers' Brandon Manning were bloodied during a skirmish in the second period that resulted in Perry being sent to the locker room with a cut over his left ear.

He said that he felt the Ducks (26-19-7) handled the physical game the right way.

"It's all about keeping them in check, but at the same time sticking up for one another," Perry said. "I thought we did a good job of that."

Anaheim recovered after getting crushed 6-2 on Monday by Pittsburgh to open a seven-game trip. It didn't take long to get back on track as Rickard Rakell scored twice for a 2-0 lead in an opening period in which the Ducks held a 15-5 edge in shots.

''I couldn't have written it up as good as that,'' coach Bruce Boudreau said. ''I thought our first period was pretty dominating. It just shows the guys were a little ticked off with their effort (Monday) night and they wanted to atone for it."

Captain Ryan Getzlaf also had two assists to give him 33 overall and 10 points in his last seven games. Getzlaf and Perry each had three assists in the Ducks' 4-2 home win over the Blue Jackets on Nov. 6.

Anaheim figures to get its first look at rookie Joonas Korpisalo, who has started the last seven games for Columbus (21-28-6) while filling in for injured Sergei Bobrovsky (groin) and Curtis McElhinney (ankle).

Korpisalo has a season-high 44 saves in Tuesday's 3-2 shootout home defeat to the New York Islanders. He had gone 6-1-1 with a 1.84 goals-against average in his previous eight starts.

"Korpi played a great game," forward Boone Jenner said. "Obviously he's been doing that a lot lately and he was there again tonight."

Korpisalo has had to be sharp since the Blue Jackets have totaled six non-shootout goals in four games since the All-Star break. Jenner, who has 17 goals, and Brandon Saad, who has a team-high 19, are both pointless in this stretch.

Columbus failed to score after the first period Tuesday, getting outshot for the game 46-31. The club opened a five-game homestand after winning two of three in Western Canada.

''It looked like we kind of ran out of gas,'' coach John Tortorella said. ''I'm not sure if the trip hurt us. I'm always concerned about that, coming off that West Coast trip. I don't want to make excuses. Judging from the first period, I thought we were there.''

Tortorella opted to cancel Wednesday's practice.

Anaheim has the league's best penalty kill at 89.0 percent while Columbus owns the NHL's third-worst power play at home at 16.0 percent.