When that opportunity arrived late in the third period Wednesday night, Ryan Getzlaf and Teemu Selanne absolutely nailed it.

Getzlaf set up Bobby Ryan’s tying goal and Selanne’s tiebreaker 1:04 apart in the waning minutes, and the Ducks rallied for a 4-2 victory over Chicago in a meeting of the NHL’s top two teams.

Jonas Hiller stopped 22 shots, and Peter Holland and Sheldon Souray scored as the Ducks extended their franchise-record home winning streak to 13 games in dramatic fashion. Anaheim (22-3-4) pulled within three points of Chicago atop the overall NHL standings by dealing the Blackhawks just their third regulation loss of the season.

“It means a lot,” said Ryan, who scored his ninth goal of the season. “They’ve made a statement to run away with it so far, and we’ve quietly just gone about our business. To be three points back with a game in hand is huge. … It’s been a fun ride to be a part of, and I hope it continues.”

Getzlaf could barely get out of bed with a case of the flu, lasting just five minutes at the morning skate and taking only one faceoff during the game. The Anaheim captain still delivered two remarkable assists in pressure-packed moments to hand Chicago its third regulation loss in six games after its 21-0-3 start to the season.

“He’s playing an MVP season right now, and it’s fun to watch,” Selanne said.

Getzlaf first fed Ryan on a rush for the tying goal with 5:27 to play before setting up the 42-year-old Selanne for his 670th career goal with 4:23 left, ending the Finnish Flash’s nine-game goal drought. Souray added an empty-net goal in the final minute for Anaheim, which has earned points in 12 straight games (9-0-3).

“We don’t expect to come back, but we always think we can,” Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. “We’ve got great leadership. Everybody knows their role, and everybody played it.”

Nick Leddy scored a power-play goal and captain Jonathan Toews scored an early short-handed goal for the Blackhawks (24-3-3), who have lost after entering the third period with a lead just twice in 19 games this season — both times to the Ducks.

The largest crowd in Honda Center history was packed with boisterous fans of both teams for a prominent game in this lockout-shortened year. Two clubs with a points percentage above .800 had never met this late in an NHL season, and they lived up to their pedigrees in a fast-paced game showcasing their skill and tenacity.

“They obviously have the advantage right now because they’ve got four points (in their two meetings) and we’ve got one, so I’m sure they’re feeling pretty good,” Chicago’s Patrick Kane said. “But hopefully we can learn from these games and move forward and become a better team because of it. We’ve made a couple of mental mistakes lately that have cost us.”

Corey Crawford made 22 saves for the Blackhawks, who appeared to be headed for a 2-1 road victory until Anaheim scored three times in stunning style.

Chicago has earned 51 of a possible 60 points in its first 30 games this season, but Anaheim is responsible for a third of those missed points after this win and a 3-2 shootout victory at the United Center last month. The Ducks and Blackhawks finish their regular-season series March 29 in Chicago.

“They’ve been having a great season, but they’ve just been under the radar because of our streak and the way we’ve been playing,” Kane said. “But they’re a great team, and we’re going to be ready for them next time.”

Both teams played this showdown without key offensive components. Ducks right wing Corey Perry finished his four-game suspension for an illegal hit, while Chicago’s Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp sat out with injuries.

After Leddy put the Blackhawks ahead on his 22nd birthday during a power play midway through the second period, Chicago appeared to extend its lead when Brandon Bollig scored in front of Hiller with 14:03 to play. Instead, video review confirmed Bollig kicked the puck into the net with his right skate.

“It’s frustrating, considering we thought we were looking at a 3-1 lead at one point,” Toews said. “We have to keep working and doing the right things. We played good enough to win, but made a few mistakes in the last five minutes, and they made us pay for it.”

Anaheim finally broke through when Getzlaf brought the puck down the wing and fed it in front to Ryan, who banged it through Kyle Palmieri’s screen for his ninth goal. Moments later, Selanne scored on a slick shot in close.

Game notes

Anaheim’s Andrew Cogliano skated off with a bloody mouth after the faceoff following Selanne’s goal when Bollig clipped him with a high stick. Bollig wasn’t called for a penalty on the play. Cogliano sustained significant damage to his teeth — but didn’t miss a shift. … The goal was Leddy’s fourth of the season after getting just three in 82 games last year. … Longtime Blackhawks fan Vince Vaughn and Orange County native Matt Barkley attended the game, both wearing jerseys.

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Palmieri ended a 10-game goal drought with his first NHL hat trick, Viktor Fasth made 20 saves, and the Pacific Division leaders beat the Nashville Predators 5-1 Wednesday night for their seventh straight home victory.

“It’s been an up-and-down season for me, but I hope that this gives me the confidence to put together a nice little hot streak,” Palmieri said.

Nick Bonino and Saku Koivu also scored for Anaheim. Perry and Getzlaf assisted on all three goals by Palmieri, who hadn’t scored since netting back-to-back game winners on Feb. 1-2.

“They’re two phenomenal players and definitely two of the best in the world, so it’s an honor to be on their line and be on ice with them,” Palmieri said. “Those guys are also phenomenal playmakers as well as goal scorers.

“I just knew I had to get out there and work hard and find those areas. I knew that if I was open, they’d give me the puck.”

Palmieri completed his outburst against Pekka Rinne 1:07 into the second period, during a power play after Nashville had too many men on the ice.

“I couldn’t believe it at first,” Palmieri said. “It was kind of a quick play there, and I wasn’t actually sure if it went in. But when the ref game the signal, it was a pretty awesome feeling.”

It was the sixth natural hat trick in club history and marked the third career multigoal game for the 22-year-old forward, selected by the Ducks in the first round of the 2009 draft.

“Last year, I was up and down from the minors quite a few times and couldn’t quite find my home in the lineup,” Palmieri said. “But this year I came in knowing I wanted to be here and I was going to work and do whatever it took to stay here.”

Anaheim (14-3-1) tied Montreal for the second-most points in the NHL behind Chicago’s 35. The Ducks have won seven of eight, losing to only Los Angeles on Monday.

“We just turned the page,” Getzlaf said. “In this short season, if you can resist losing two in a row, it changes a lot of things.”

Rinne gave up five goals on 21 shots before he was replaced at the start of the third period.

Craig Smith scored Nashville’s goal.

Rinne allowed at least four goals for the third game in a row after coming in with a 1.90 goals-against average and a league-best three shutouts.

Rinne was 7-0-2 with a 1.58 GAA in his previous nine starts against Anaheim — both losses coming this season in shootouts.

“We didn’t put pressure in the other team at all. We made it easy for them,” Smith said after the opener of a three-game California trip. “We have to get back to work and try to sort this thing out.”

The Predators fell behind 2-0 before getting their first shot at 6:11 of the first period.

“We were able to catch them on a very tired night,” Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. “It was their fourth game in six nights and they were flying cross-country, so they didn’t look like they had the normal energy that a Nashville team does.”

Anaheim’s first goal came on a dump-in play, as Rinne mishandled the puck behind the net. Rookie Emerson Etem, recalled from the minors on Tuesday, came in hard and fed a pass in front to Bonino, who scored his fifth goal of the season at 2:48.

“We’ve had pretty bad starts lately, so it’s nice when one pops to you between the hash marks in front of an open net to get it going,” Bonino said. “It was huge.

“We have a good team here and everyone knows it.”

The assist was Etem’s third in nine NHL games. He started the season in the minors, then returned there for five games before he and center Peter Holland switched places.

“He brought a lot of energy to the game. There’s no doubt,” Boudreau said of Etem. “He did it the first time he was here and he got two assists in his third game. I think he feels more comfortable coming back for the second time.”

Palmieri finished off a 2-on-2 rush with Perry 61 seconds later, getting a pass in the left circle and swerving around Predators captain Shea Weber before cutting in front of the crease and jamming the puck past Rinne’s outstretched left leg at 3:49.

“That was our worst performance of the year,” Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. “We were down 2-0 right off the bat, and after that we had no bite and no fight. That’s not like us. I thought we might pull it together in the second period, but we didn’t. I was a little surprised at that. This is an important trip.”

Palmieri connected again at 16:57 of the first, converting Perry’s pass from behind the net after Getzlaf won a faceoff in the Nashville zone.

“Kyle’s had a couple of chances in the last few games wasn’t able to score, so it was great that he was able to,” Boudreau said. “When he’s scoring goals, and Bones is scoring goals, and you’re getting them from guys that aren’t normally your leading scorers, it’s good for us.”

Game notes

The first-period goals by Bonino and Palmieri gave Anaheim nine players with five or more, the most of any team. … Palmieri is the second-youngest player to get a hat trick for the Ducks. The youngest was Bobby Ryan, who did it at age 21 on Jan. 8, 2009, in Los Angeles. … The Ducks’ home winning streak is their longest since a club-record 11-game stretch in the 2009-10 season. … The Ducks were 11-2 in February, tying the franchise record for wins in a month. … The Predators were 0-for-10 on the power play during the Ducks’ three-game, season-series sweep. … Palmieri’s final goal ended a run of 15 unsuccessful power plays by the Ducks against Nashville in the regular season. … Anaheim C Daniel Winnik, the first player in franchise history with five goals in the first four games, hasn’t scored in 14 games since. … The Ducks are 8-for-14 on the power play in their past four games.

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