Ducks skate into playoffs with shootout

The Ducks didn’t quite back into the playoffs. Thanks to Teemu Selanne’s slick shootout goal, they sidestepped their way in Friday with a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars, a game that echoed this season’s inconsistencies and surprises.

“This was a symbol for our whole year,” said goaltender Jonas Hiller, who stopped 42 shots during the first 65 minutes and two during the shootout -- and got help from the crossbar on another shootout attempt.

“Some good periods, some bad periods, and at the end we found a way to win, and that’s what counts.”

The Ducks play their regular-season finale tonight in Phoenix and can end up seeded sixth, seventh or eighth. Ending up in the playoffs was all that mattered to them Friday.

This is the fourth straight season they’ve made the playoffs, a franchise record. Their route wasn’t easy. Too many penalties, not enough scoring and porous goaltending dropped them to 12th in the West on March 15 and appeared to put them out of the playoff picture.

“Maybe in some ways that took a little pressure off us,” defenseman Scott Niedermayer said. “There was nothing left to do at that point but just try to do your best.”

That was good enough for a 9-2 surge that carried them to Friday’s game. They needed a win to get in or an overtime loss and a loss by Nashville. The Predators cooperated by losing to Minnesota, but the Ducks had a tough time with the long-eliminated Stars.

The Ducks had taken a 3-2 lead on Andrew Ebbett’s conversion of a fine pass from Selanne at 13:56 of the third period, but Steve Ott tied it on a 35-foot shot that beat Hiller with 13.1 seconds left and goaltender Marty Turco pulled in favor of an extra skater.

In the shootout, James Neal scored in the second round and Ryan Getzlaf in the third to prolong the suspense. Selanne then beat Turco on a nifty move, dashing in and skidding to a stop before lifting the puck over a fallen Turco. Hiller stopped Loui Eriksson’s wrist shot to preserve the victory.

“It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t pretty,” defenseman Chris Pronger said. “Jonas deserved better. It would have been nice not to put him through the shootout.”

The standing-room-only crowd of 17,531 was in an expectant mood and was looking for reasons to cheer. Francois Beauchemin’s return from knee surgery provided a big reason for fans to exult, and they rose to their feet to welcome back the defenseman whose physicality and savvy had been missed since he was injured on Nov. 14. Beauchemin played 15 minutes, 23 seconds, most of it paired with Sheldon Brookbank, and emerged in good enough shape to play on a second successive day.

The Ducks kept the festive mood going when they scored at 9:50 of the first period. Rob Niedermayer, at the right-wing boards, fed a pass to Todd Marchant at the lower edge of the right circle, and Marchant snapped the puck home for his fifth goal of the season and first in his last 14 games.

In the second period Dallas had by far the better of the play and pulled even at 4:10. Rob Niedermayer was serving a hooking penalty when Dallas scored. Hiller stopped a shot from the left circle Ivan Vishnevskiy, but the rebound was swooped up by Ott for his 18th goal of the season.

The Ducks regained the lead at 7:03 of the third. James Wisniewski took the puck from Mike Ribeiro in the Ducks’ end and skated up the right side. He passed to Perry, who pursued the puck into the corner. Scott Niedermayer was there, too, and he kicked it free to Perry, who came around on the left side and saw Scott Niedermayer free on the right.

Perry’s pass through the slot found Niedermayer about 20 feet out, and Niedermayer rifled the puck past Turco for his 14th goal this season.

Dallas made it 2-2 at 13:43 when Fabian Brunnstrom scored off a scramble in front, but the Ducks responded 13 seconds later. Scott Niedermayer made it possible with a dump-in shot to the left corner that Selanne outskated Matt Niskanen to win. Selanne came around to the left side of the slot and slipped the puck across to Ebbett, who beat Turco from about 15 feet out.

That set up Ott’s deflating goal, but the Ducks rebounded from that as defiantly as they had come back from being roadkill alongside the path to the Stanley Cup.

“It wasn’t our best effort tonight, but we understand and know that,” Pronger said. “We’ve got to shore up a few things and play better in front, whether it’s [Jean-Sebastien Giguere] in net or Jonas.”

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helene.elliott@latimes.com