Tired Ducks Regroup, End Up With 5-5 Tie

The Mighty Ducks keep saying they want to put the pedal to the metal going into the playoffs. At the moment, their tank is just about on empty.

The last-place San Jose Sharks tied the Ducks, 5-5, Wednesday in a wildly see-sawing game after Marty McSorley scored with 22 seconds left in the third period.

Despite a faltering performance, the Ducks had a victory within their grasp after scoring four goals in the third period.

“We looked exhausted most of the game,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said. “But we regrouped in the third. Guys really dug down.

“With 30 seconds left, I was thinking it was a miracle two points, and pretty much sealed [a playoff berth],” Wilson said. “But it’s a point, in a game where you could have lost two points.”

With the tie, the Ducks set a club record for points in a season by reaching 79.

The Ducks aren’t in real trouble, but they aren’t cruising into the playoffs either, after consecutive ties.

With three games left, they are alone in fourth place with 79 points, seven points ahead of ninth-place Calgary, which has five games left and is still trying to crash the top eight. Even if Calgary went 5-0, the Ducks could go 2-1 and finish ahead of them.

The bigger concern is recovering their form. Wilson thinks time off will help after an arduous trip and four games in the last six nights.

Goalie Guy Hebert came back from a weeklong rest, starting for the first time in four games. He sat out the last three because of fatigue brought on by starting 42 of the previous 43.

Hebert was spectacular during the Ducks’ push to get into playoff position, but he wasn’t in peak form Wednesday.

“I thought he made some big saves, but he had trouble controlling some rebounds,” Wilson said. “Guy’s our No. 1 goalie, and we’ve got to prepare Guy for the playoffs. Mike will probably play one more game, and Guy will play two.”

The Ducks also miss the steadying influence of veteran defenseman Bobby Dollas, who has missed the last two games because of chickenpox and isn’t expected to return before Wednesday against the Kings.

The Sharks have long been eliminated from the playoff picture and had won only twice in the last 11 games. But they were coming off a humiliating 7-1 loss to Phoenix Tuesday, and the rivalry with the Ducks is always sharp.

The Ducks--who trailed by two goals at the start of the third--had taken a 5-4 lead at the 12:23 mark, when Teemu Selanne took a pass from Paul Kariya and put the puck past goalie Kelly Hrudey for his 48th goal of the season. Ted Drury set up the goal by stealing San Jose’s clearing attempt.

But the tying goal came in the final minutes after the Ducks couldn’t control a faceoff in their own end and McSorley, the former King, finally came up with the puck high in the left faceoff circle and slung it past Hebert.

San Jose led, 3-1, going into the third but the Ducks came back to tie on goals from two of their most veteran players.

Jari Kurri corralled a rebound in the slot 2:06 into the third period, scoring the 13th goal of his season and the 596th of his NHL career. With three games left in the season, he is four goals from becoming only the eighth NHL player to score 600 goals.

A little more than two minutes later, Brian Bellows tied the score with his 15th goal of the season at 4:27 of the third.

But the Sharks weren’t going away easily, and they took the lead at the 5:26 mark on a goal by Shean Donovan before the Ducks’ Dan Trebil tied it, 4-4, at 10:03.

“We had two leads. We blew them,” Bellows said. “Once you get up, you feel you should win.

“But going into the third, we’d have been happy with a tie, and now we’re disappointed. That’s good. It shows guys are hungry.”

The Ducks started the game quickly, when Kariya scored his 41st goal of the season 32 seconds into the game. But before the period was over, the Ducks allowed the San Jose’s Jeff Friesen to score two goals within 31 seconds of each other, giving the Sharks a 2-1 lead.

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Heading Down to the Wire

Here’s a look at the playoff race in the Western Conference. Colorado, Dallas and Detroit have clinched three of the eight playoff spots.

4. Ducks

Record: 33-33-13

Points: 79

Games to play: 2 home, 1 road: April 4--vs. Dallas; 9--vs. Kings; 11--at San Jose

5. Phoenix

Record: 36-35-6

Points: 78

Games to play: 1 home, 4 road: Tonight--at Kings; April 6--at Colorado; 7--vs. Dallas; 9--at Vancouver; 11--at Edmonton

6. Edmonton

Record: 35-35-7

Points: 77

Games to play: 4 home, 1 road: Tonight--vs. Chicago; April 5--vs. Vancouver; 9--vs. Detroit; 11--vs. Phoenix; 12--at Vancouver

7. St. Louis

Record: 33-34-10

Points: 76

Games to play: 3 home, 2 road; Tonight--vs. Islanders; April 6--vs. New Jersey; 9--at Chicago; 10--vs. Toronto; 13--at Detroit

8. Chicago

Record: 31-33-13

Points: 75

Games to play: 2 home, 3 road: Tonight--at Edmonton; April 6--at Calgary; 9--vs. St. Louis; 11--vs. Calgary; 13--at Dallas

9. Calgary

Record: 32-37-8

Points: 72

Games to play: 2 home, 3 road: April 4--at Vancouver; 6--vs. Chicago; 8--vs. Detroit; 11--at Chicago; 12--at Toronto