Ducks’ Hopes for Playoffs Dim : NHL: Anaheim loses to Edmonton, 3-2, in overtime. San Jose needs only three more points to clinch playoff berth.

This season of learning for the Mighty Ducks is almost over, and this will be one of their final lessons.

This is what it feels like to be in a playoff race: highlights from San Jose’s game on the scoreboard, goal-by-goal updates, your fans cheering every San Jose misfortune.

And this is what it feels like to thwart your own hopes, losing to the last-place Edmonton Oilers in overtime, 3-2, after leading with five minutes left in regulation.

Rookie Jason Arnott scored his 31st goal of the season on a rebound at 1:44 of the extra period to lift the Oilers--and backup goalie Fred Brathwaite, who won for the first time this season, in his 13th game.

The Ducks thought they had a chance to cut San Jose’s lead for the final Western Conference playoff spot to six points Thursday, but instead they fell 10 out with only six games left after losing in front of 17,174 at The Pond of Anaheim.

San Jose, meanwhile, is sprinting toward the finish line with a seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2). The Sharks pulled off a come-from-behind victory against Toronto while the Ducks and Oilers were playing.

‘We pretty much dominated the third period, but at crunch time we made some bonehead plays,” Coach Ron Wilson said. “We blew two points, not just one. We blew two.”

The Sharks now need only three points to clinch the final Western Conference playoff spot. Even if the Ducks win all six of their remaining games, San Jose only needs a victory and a tie in its last six to beat them.

The Ducks took a 2-1 lead at 13:34 of the third period on Joe Sacco’s rising slap shot from the right circle after he used his speed to get open. But the Oilers came right back at 15:47 when Steve Rice reached around goalie Guy Hebert, who had already gone down, to push in a rebound and tie the score, 2-2.

“We didn’t have much energy tonight it seemed to me,” Wilson said. “But it shouldn’t have even gone to overtime. (Anatoli Semenov) has got to get the puck out and Guy can’t let a rebound sit right there.”

The game was scoreless until late in the second period, and it was not a scintillating stalemate. The Ducks were probably tired after an emotional victory over the Kings the night before, and the Oilers are the Oilers.

But the Oilers scored first, when Kirk Maltby made a backhand pass with his back to the net, and Arnott managed to put the puck past Hebert while falling down. The goal put Edmonton up, 1-0, at 17:47 of the second.

The Ducks tied the score with 19 seconds left in the second when Stephan Lebeau scored in a scramble after Don McSween threw the puck in front and it came to Lebeau on the left side of the net off the stick of Bobby Dollas.

Brathwaite was hurt on the play when a teammate ran into him and left the ice. But the injury proved to be only a torn fingernail, and he returned for the third--and the overtime. He finished with 32 saves.

“It took a lot of courage to play after what happened to him,” Oiler Coach Glen Sather said. “He said it was OK, but it must have really bothered him. It looked pretty wicked. If you’ve ever slammed your finger in a door, that’s what it was like.”

Duck notes

Unless the Mighty Ducks make the playoffs, Coach Ron Wilson is expected to coach the U.S. team in the World Championships April 25-May 8 in Italy, General Manager Jack Ferreira said. Wilson holds dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship. . . . Ferreira said his gut feeling now is that Paul Kariya will start his professional career on the other side of the Atlantic. “I’m saying what I think he’ll do is go to Europe. I think that’s what he’s thinking.” The Ducks are millions apart on a multiyear contract proposal with Kariya, the fourth pick overall last June, and the sides don’t plan to talk again until the World Championships. “The lines are open, but I don’t think the phone’s going to ring,” Ferreira said. . . . Saturday’s home game against Toronto is a rare 5 p.m. start in order to stagger traffic because of the Freeway Series game at Anaheim Stadium.

Times staff writer Helene Elliott contributed to this story.