Ducks Take Best Shots, Fail

Another day of diminishing returns for the Mighty Ducks.

Another day of saying, “Hey, at least we played well.”

Another day of being oh-so-close.

Another day, another disappointment.

Edmonton, shorthanded and struggling, took a 1-0 victory out of the Arrowhead Pond on Wednesday with a performance that gave it the look of a playoff contender. The Ducks, meanwhile, seem lower than at any point this season. Sure, they are hanging around the playoff race, but, at the midway point, are dangerously close to slipping out of contention.

“This is as much an emergency situation as you can get,” Coach Mike Babcock said. “We’ve been trying to stay in [the race] all season. Well, right now, we’re not in it. You don’t find out what you’re team is made of if they don’t get a chance to play in big games. You walk away frustrated at letting an opportunity get away.”

An announced crowd of 12,390 saw the Ducks extend their winless streak to seven games, losing for the sixth time in that stretch. They were shutout for the second time in three games. They wasted another solid performance by backup goalie Martin Gerber, who has allowed only one goal in each of the last three games and has an 0-2-1 record to show for it.

The Oilers, who played with five defensemen, still managed to make Mike York’s second-period goal stand up. Goalie Jussi Markkanen extended his shutout string against the Ducks to 168 minutes.

The Ducks lost to Philadelphia, 1-0, Friday and tied Dallas, 1-1, Sunday, outshooting both teams. They held a 32-21 advantage Wednesday, which again amounted to spinning their wheels.

They dominated the last minute, getting more quality chances in that time then in the first 59 minutes. Markkanen stopped four point-blank shots in that time, leaving the Ducks with the undeniable truth.

“You can’t win if you don’t score,” team captain Paul Kariya said. “We got to start getting some dirty goals. We had a lot of chances tonight, but their goalie got a good look at them. We have to get some people in front of the net.”

Markkanen was not seriously tested until the final minute.

“If you’re making sandwiches for the kids, you don’t just go, ‘There’s some baloney,’ even though they like cheese and lettuce and tomatoes on it,” Babcock said. “That’s not good enough. The good-enough meter isn’t good enough.”

And the meter is running.

The Ducks are closer to last place in the Western Conference, leading Nashville by five points, than they are to the final playoff spot. They trail eighth-place Colorado by six points.

“We don’t want to be a team that finishes the season strong after they are out of the playoff race,” Babcock said. “That’s not real.”

The real world for the Ducks is cold and harsh these days. This seemed like a prime chance for the Ducks’ first victory since Dec. 22 against Phoenix.

Edmonton was without forward Mike Comrie (broken right thumb). He is second on the team with 14 goals. The Oilers were also without Janne Niinimaa (flu) and Steve Staios (concussion), leaving them able to dress only five defensemen. To make matters worse, Niinimaa and Staios are two of the Oilers’ best defensemen.

Edmonton took the lead with work ethic in the second period. Todd Marchant burst into the Duck zone and tried to center to Ryan Smyth, only to have the puck deflected away. But Mike York, who was trailing the play, kept charging the net and was there to put a wrist shot into the upper part of the net for a 1-0 lead 7:59 into the second period.