Dreary Home Losses Leave Team at Bottom of West

The Ducks failed in their quest to post a .500 or better record in games after the Feb. 4 All-Star game. They had a chance after tying the Colorado Avalanche, 1-1, Wednesday in Denver. But dreary home losses Friday to the Phoenix Coyotes and Sunday against the San Jose Sharks left the Ducks with a 9-12-5-1 mark after the all-star break.

What’s more, the Ducks could have escaped last place in the Western Conference standings with a victory, but failed to overtake the Minnesota Wild.

“The team bought into what we were trying to do after the all-star break,” Coach Guy Charron said. “It could really have been a rough ride. It wasn’t until the Phoenix game that the wheels fell off. I would have hoped we could have sustained a better effort.”

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The Ducks finished 26th overall in the standings--ahead of only the Florida Panthers, Atlanta Thrashers, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders of the Eastern Conference.

It means the Ducks have a shot at the No. 1 draft pick June 23 in Sunrise, Fla. Tuesday, the NHL will hold its draft drawing, a weighted lottery system that will determine which team gets the top pick.

The Ducks have an 8.1% chance of moving from fifth in the draft order to first. There also is a small chance they could drop one place in the draft order.

Last season, the Islanders moved from fifth to first to take goaltender Rick DiPietro, the first time in the six-year history of the lottery a team has moved to No. 1.

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Forwards Dan Bylsma and Matt Cullen and defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky were the only Ducks to play in all 82 games this season. Tverdovsky has played in 290 consecutive games, the league’s second-longest active streak behind Chicago’s Tony Amonte, who has played 328 in a row.