Ducks Settle for a Tie

Adam Oates moved up a rung for posterity and the Mighty Ducks got a little better footing in the playoff race Monday.

Those two moments, which were superimposed, would have been worth savoring even more had the Ducks held on for a victory. Instead, they settled for a 2-2 tie with the New York Islanders in front of an announced 13,172 at the Arrowhead Pond.

Petr Sykora and Paul Kariya scored for the Ducks, but it was Oates who was in the spotlight. He assisted on the goals to move past Gordie Howe into sixth place on the career list with 1,050.

Oates has played 513 fewer games. He has 466 fewer goals than Howe, who is second all-time with 801 goals. The Ducks will honor Oates with a ceremony before Friday’s game.

“I’m not sure what it means,” Oates said. “You think about all the things that allowed you to play this long. All the great scorers I have played with. My dad was just here and we talked about it. Maybe it is something that you can look back on later and reflect on a little bit.”

The Ducks hope that games like these are not ones to reflect on at the end of the season.

They were close to having the two points, in regulation and in overtime.

Sykora broke in unchecked, faked goalie Garth Snow to the ice, then hit the post with a shot two minutes into overtime. In regulation, New York’s Alexei Yashin took a drop pass and fired a shot into the upper left-hand corner of the net to tie the score at 12:42 of the third period.

“Well, what did we lose?” Coach Mike Babcock said. “We have a broken stick and they get the tying goal. What, do we sue somebody?”

The tie moved them two points in front of eighth-place Edmonton. More important, it put them five points ahead of ninth-place Chicago. Still, the view was a little different from the captain’s chair.

“A point’s a point, but it’s not very satisfying when you have the lead with seven minutes left,” Kariya said.

Point by point is how Oates has paved his way to what certainly will be a hall-of-fame induction. He tied Howe and the Ducks evened the score, 1-1, on Sykora’s goal 8:43 into the second period.

Defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh pinched in forward to create a turnover. After a ricochet, Oates took the puck behind the net, where it was tipped free. Kariya ended up with puck and centered to Sykora, and Snow never had a chance on his one-timer from deep in the slot.

Oates passed Howe with a trademark play, patiently holding the puck, waiting for the defense to commit. Sykora chipped the puck to Oates behind the net. He found Kariya darting, then centered a pass. Kariya put the puck in the net before Snow could turn his head.

“He saw me all the way,” Kariya said. “You don’t get that many assists without great vision. Adam has had an unbelievable career. He has had a chance to catch a legend.”

Oates has benefited from being teamed with Kariya and Sykora 18 games ago. The trio has 20 goals and 36 assists in that time and the Ducks have a 12-4-1-1 record.

“I am going to say that all the goals scorers I have played with are equal, because you don’t want to offend anybody,” Oates said. “But Paul and Petr are really good and our line is playing well right now. It’s all about chemistry.”

Hockey history wasn’t on the Ducks’ minds at the start. In fact, hockey didn’t seem to enter their thoughts much during the first 20 minutes. They were outshot (11 to 5) and outworked throughout the first period.

Adrian Aucoin gave the Islanders the lead three seconds after the Ducks had killed a penalty.