CHICAGO -- Anaheim Ducks defenseman Simon Despres intended to fire a rising shot Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Instead, Despres' one-timer hovered low to the ice like a weighted balloon.

"I was surprised it went in, actually," Despres said. "I didn't get it up enough. It just stayed on the ice."

Meanwhile, Anaheim's optimism continues to climb.

Despres' low shot proved to be the tiebreaking goal in a 2-1 win in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. Left winger Patrick Maroon added a goal for the Ducks, and center Ryan Getzlaf tallied two assists as Anaheim gained a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series.

Right winger Patrick Kane scored the lone goal for Chicago, his first of the series.

The win represented a strong response from Anaheim, which lost an exhausting triple-overtime marathon in Game 2. The Ducks improved to 10-2 in the postseason, including 4-1 on the road.

Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau praised his players for their effort on defense. The Ducks earned a 27-9 advantage in blocked shots and a 7-3 edge in takeaways.

"I think it told me what I know, (which) is that they're a great character team," Boudreau said. "This was a character win."

Anaheim goaltender Frederik Andersen stopped 28 of 29 shots to earn his 10th victory in 12 playoff games. He improved his save percentage during the series to .959 (117 of 122).

Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford turned aside 25 of 27 shots in the loss.

Chicago lost on home ice for the first time since April 7 against the Minnesota Wild, a span of six playoff games at the United Center.

"We had some chances," Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook said. "We have to find a way to get one there and push that thing into overtime."

The Blackhawks went 0-for-5 on the power play, including a double minor by right winger Jakob Silfverberg in the first period when he caught Chicago center Jonathan Toews in the face with a high stick, drawing blood.

Kane said the Blackhawks failed to take charge during the man advantage.

"I don't think our entries were very good," Kane said. "They seemed to get the puck back when we were battling for it. I think we let them have some easy clears, too. That has got to be better, and we will be better at that."

The Ducks displayed no such struggles as they converted their only power-play opportunity.

A power-play goal by Maroon gave Anaheim a 1-0 lead with 7:05 remaining in the first period. Defenseman Hampus Lindholm ripped a shot from the blue line, and Maroon redirected the puck from the high slot as right winger Corey Perry screened Crawford in front of the net.

Chicago evened the score at 1 on a backhand shot by Kane with 56.1 seconds remaining in the first period. Kane collected a loose puck in the offensive zone and wheeled left before lifting the puck past Andersen for his eighth goal of the playoffs and his first of the series.

Anaheim got the eventual game-winner on a one-timer by Despres with 54.2 seconds to go in the second period. Getzlaf fed a pass to the right circle for Despres, who ripped a low slap shot past Crawford's outstretched pad for his first-career playoff goal.

Both goaltenders made dazzling saves with the score tied at 1 in the second period. Crawford reached across the crease with the paddle of his stick to stop an attempt by right winger Emerson Etem with 9:15 remaining. Two minutes later, Andersen sprawled for a glove save against left winger Brandon Saad.

"We knew he had that capability," Boudreau said of his goaltender. "He does put a calmness about the group when we're not playing well or we're having a rough shift."

Game 4 is set for Saturday night at the United Center.

"We know what's at stake," Toews said. "We'll just go out there and play as hard as we can."

NOTES: Chicago LW Kris Versteeg returned to the lineup after sitting out the previous six games as a healthy scratch. Versteeg replaced C Teuvo Teravainen. ... Anaheim LW Tomas Fleischmann and RW Chris Wagner remained out as healthy scratches. ... Chicago C Antoine Vermette was benched in favor of LW Joakim Nordstrom, who played for the first time since April 17 against the Nashville Predators. ... Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau shrugged off a question about his market value after Toronto hired coach Mike Babcock to an eight-year deal reportedly worth about $50 million. "I'm happy for Mike, but I'm also really happy being in Anaheim doing what I'm doing," Boudreau said. ... Chicago D Kimmo Timonen appeared in his 100th career postseason game. Timonen, 40, plans to retire at the end of the playoffs.