On handling Corey Perry’s antics, and his skill

Corey Perry’s reputation has preceded him, and he’s lived up to his agitating antics in the series.

“Some of the stuff you just have to laugh at,” Dustin Brown said.

He’s played the squirting-water-into-Jeff Carter’s-glove trick two games in a row, according to Brown. Jonathan Quick took out his frustrations on Perry in Game 2, targeting the Anaheim forward with a punch and earning a roughing penalty as they were tangled up in the Los Angeles crease. In the Ducks’ previous series, Perry was both targeted and the instigator of many after-the-whistle episodes involving Antoine Roussel and Ryan Garbutt, two primary actors in post-whistle theatre.

He’s also a highly skilled player who most effectively made his presence felt in Game 2 with a first period power play goal and has a Hart Trophy to his name.

So how are Perry’s skills and agitating tendencies best handled?

“It’s between the whistles where you have to go after him,” said Dustin Brown, who noted that Anaheim’s agitators are “the same” compared to other divisional rivals.

“I think most teams are relatively the same. Just part of it.”

“He’s a big, strong guy,” Brown said of Perry. “If you have an opportunity to finish him, make it hard on him during the play, that’s probably the best way to combat a lot of the stuff he does.”

Drew Doughty, who has known Perry well since his early teenage years, said that the fellow London, Ontario resident is “pretty quiet” off the ice.

“He really doesn’t say too much. You kind of have to get to know him a little more, get to know him better. He’s an awesome guy off the ice. I see him quite a bit throughout the summer. On the ice, he’s a pest out there. He’s a really good player and he likes to get under the other team’s skin. When you put those two things together, him being a good player kind of frustrates you. But we just have to take him out of this series. He’s one of their key guys on their team and we haven’t done a good enough job against him yet. I think tonight we need to pay special attention to that and take him out of the game.”

Is it best to ignore or to engage Perry?

“If he starts it after the whistle or something, I’m probably just going to ignore it,” Doughty said. “But if throughout the game, he’s going to try and hit me or whatever, I’m going to try and hit him back for sure. You have to play physical on a guy like that. He’s a big, strong guy who is good down low, good at protecting the puck and the only way you can beat him is physically. You have to play him hard and try to get under his skin too, because I’m sure he gets frustrated at times too.”