Ducks Stuck on Outside : Hockey: They fail to convert on two-man advantage and lose to Sharks, 5-2. Anaheim stays two points back.

For quite some time, the Mighty Ducks have been pointing to their final game against the San Jose Sharks as their ace in the hole, a chance to bring their playoff hopes closer to reality.

With their chances for a victory fading fast late in the third period and his team trailing by two goals, Duck Coach Ron Wilson played his ace in the hole--as his team was about to go on the power play--by challenging goalie Arturs Irbe’s stick.

He won, only to see his team lose the game Wednesday night, 5-2

“I was waiting for the moment,” Wilson said. “I had my fingers crossed.”

The penalty for an illegal stick gave the Ducks a two-man advantage for two minutes starting at 15:41, but they couldn’t convert.

“We hit the crossbar once,” Wilson said. “But we didn’t have the snap on the five-on-three.”

The Sharks moved into a tie with the Kings for the eighth and final playoff spot, and the Ducks remained two points back. If the season ended today, the Sharks would advance to play Detroit because they have more victories than the Kings.

“It was a big game, a must-win situation for both teams,” Shark center Igor Larionov said.

Duck center Stephan Lebeau knew it too.

“We know what the situation is right now,” he said. “We’ll need some help from the other teams, no doubt, but we’re not giving up until it’s over.”

Wilson’s challenge of Irbe’s stick--reminiscent of Montreal’s Jacques Demers challenging the Kings’ Marty McSorley in the 1993 Stanley Cup finals--proved a good gamble, and was partly inspired by Lebeau, who was on that Canadien team and wondered out loud if the Ducks shouldn’t try it too. Irbe’s stick was measured, apparently exceeding the 3 1/2-inch width limit, and play was delayed while the Sharks sought a legal stick. However, the gamesmanship proved futile when the Ducks didn’t score.

The Sharks’ next game is Friday at home against the Kings. Then the Kings and Ducks face off for the final time Sunday at the Forum.

After that, the only two games the Ducks have left are at The Pond next week against St. Louis and Toronto.

“I told Ron if we don’t make it, I want it to go to the last minute of the Toronto game,” General Manager Jack Ferreira said. “We’ve got to squeeze every bit of experience we can out of this.”

The Sharks were clinging to a 3-2 lead at the beginning of the third period, but they opened it up again at 11:11, taking a 4-2 lead when Jamie Baker went around goalie Guy Hebert, who went down early, to score. Sandis Ozolinsh nailed down the victory at 14:39 when he scored a power-play goal.

The Ducks scored first--usually a key indicator for them--but the Sharks scored the next three and took a 3-1 lead a little less than midway through the second period.

The crowd might have seen postseason hopes fading before their eyes, but the Ducks refused to let up. Bob Corkum was one of the leaders of a fierce attack that racked up 21 shots in the second period, and he tightened the game when he scored at 10:51, sweeping the puck into the net on an outstretched attempt as he was taken down from behind. Lebeau set Corkum up for the goal when he pulled up and spun away from a defender to get the puck to Corkum as he came into the play.

The Ducks were crashing the net late in the period, but Irbe held up and the game went to the third with the Sharks head, 3-2.

Until Wednesday, the season series had been a complete reversal from last season. The Sharks swept the Ducks, 6-0, last year, only to lose the first four decisively this season.

This time, the Sharks broke a 1-1 tie at 5:27 of the second when Sergei Makarov scored a power-play goal off a pass from Igor Larionov. That pair devastated the Ducks last season, combining for 23 points in six games. This season, injuries and lineup changes had limited them to a combined one point in the first four games.

The Ducks got a power-play opportunity a few minutes later after Jim Kyte went off for roughing, but this one turned the other way, with San Jose scoring a shorthanded goal of a two-on-one rush. Kevin Miller and Vlastimil Kroupa skated in against defenseman Milos Holan, and Miller’s shot actually went into the net off Holan’s skate at 8:50, putting San Jose ahead, 3-1.

They Ducks were 12-2-2 when they scored first. This time, they took a 1-0 lead just 5:23 into the game Wednesday when Paul Kariya scored on a well-executed power play.

Their much-criticized power play remains the worst in the NHL, but has been better recently with the Ducks scoring on five of 21 chances in one stretch.

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Duck Notes

Walt Kyle, who coached the San Diego Gulls this season, will not move with the San Diego franchise to Los Angeles but will stay with the Duck organization and coach their new affiliate in the American Hockey League. Baltimore is among the cities the Ducks are considering. . . . Gulls goalie Allan Bester is practicing with the Ducks and is available for emergency recall.