Oilers’ Lowe Reaches 1,200-Games Plateau

Edmonton’s Kevin Lowe, 37, became only the 30th player in NHL history to appear in 1,200th games.

How long has he been around?

Consider that he scored the Oilers’ first goal as an NHL team in 1979 (Edmonton played in the World Hockey Assn. before that).

Lowe, part of the Oiler dynasty with Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Jari Kurri, returned to the Oilers this season after a four-year absence. His legs have slowed, but there are ways to compensate.

“That’s a lot of miles,” said the Ducks’ Brian Bellows, 32, who has played in 1,045 games. “He makes up for it up top.”

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The ice at the Pond was particularly poor after a Clipper game the night before, and defenseman Jeff Norton ripped it.

“This is a pathetic ice surface,” he said. “This is the NHL and I understand they have a lot of events in this building. But I’ve seen other buildings where it’s better. I’ve seen better at Madison Square Garden and they have 300 events a year. People are paying big money to see two good skating teams. It’s ridiculous.

“I’m not saying that’s why we lost. They won on this ice surface, but there’s got to be something they can do.”

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Duck Defenseman Jason Marshall returned after missing two games because of a lacerated finger. He replaced rookie Nikolai Tsulygin in the lineup.