CHICAGO: Anaheim bounced back from a grueling home-ice loss in the previous game and won 2-1 at Chicago on Thursday to take the edge after three games of their NHL Western Conference finals series.

Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen made 27 saves, helping kill off five power plays, and defenseman Simon Despres scored his first career playoff goal as Anaheim immediately put behind it the triple-overtime loss in Game 2.

“This was a character win,” coach Bruce Boudreau said.

Ryan Kesler’s two holding penalties contributed to more than nine power-play minutes for the Blackhawks, but the Ducks’ penalty killers kept most of Chicago’s opportunities to the outside and Andersen stood his ground during a couple of goalmouth scrums.

“We just sharpened up on the PK,” Andersen said. “We weren’t satisfied with what we did the last game. That was huge for this group coming off a tough loss where we gave up two goals on the PK. We wanted to be better today.”

Patrick Maroon also scored for Anaheim while Patrick Kane scored his eighth playoff goal for Chicago, and Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford made 25 saves.

“It’s frustrating that we lost, and frustrating because we had some opportunities whether it was the power play or different chances and stuff that would get me back in the game,” Kane said. “We knew it was going to be a tough series. This is a good team. It’s tough to lose, especially at home, but we’ve got to regroup.”

Game 4 is Saturday in Chicago.

The teams were tied 1-1 when Despres drove a pass from Getzlaf past Crawford from the right wing with 55 seconds left in the second period. Despres came over in a trade with Pittsburgh in March.

“It’s been a good run so far,” Despres said. “We haven’t done anything yet. We want to get to the top. It’s a team game and the team has been playing very well so far.”

The Blackhawks outshot the Ducks 10-5 in the third, but couldn’t get past Andersen.

“We have a great team that is willing to sacrifice themselves like that,” said Andersen, who has allowed just 23 goals in the Ducks’ 10-2 start to the postseason. “It’s awesome to have a group of guys like that in front of you. That helps me out a lot.”

While the Blackhawks struggled on the power play, the Ducks capitalized on their only chance with the man advantage. With Marian Hossa off for holding, Maroon tipped Hampus Lindholm’s long slap shot past Crawford at 12:55 of the first for a 1-0 lead.

Chicago tied it 1-1 when Kane converted a spinning backhander in the final minute of the first. It was the first point of the series for Kane, who had seven goals and six assists in the first two rounds.

The Ducks made a big push at the start of the second, recording eight of the first nine shots on goal. The Blackhawks started to play better midway through the period, but Andersen had a nice stop on an open look for Jonathan Toews at 9:17, and then had an outstanding glove save on Brandon Saad with 1:24 to go.