Ducks Lose, 2-1, Fall to Sixth in West

The playoffs may be around the corner, but the Mighty Ducks are learning a hard truth as they stumble along in anticipation.

The “new” power play-laden NHL may be embraced by the league and the general public, but the referees are suddenly going old school when it comes to enforcing the rules.

For the second consecutive game on this five-game trip, the Ducks were frustrated with the lack of a call before being done in by Ales Hemsky’s dramatic goal in the final minute of regulation Thursday night that gave the Edmonton Oilers a 2-1 victory at Rexall Place.

With two games to go, the Ducks (42-26-12) aren’t exactly entering the postseason with a great deal of momentum. They fell into sixth place in the West by virtue of San Jose’s 5-3 victory over Vancouver. The trip ends Saturday in San Jose as the teams fight to play Nashville, without standout goalie Tomas Vokoun, in the first round.

They’ve managed only one goal in losses to Calgary and Edmonton, but the glaring concern is their inability to adapt to the physical style of play that’ll take hold in the playoffs.

Afterward, the officiating became an issue.

“It’s a jungle out there,” said forward Teemu Selanne, who didn’t have a shot on goal. “No question. There’s some guys on that team that should get a penalty every second shift. They just get away with so much stuff. And then it’s amazing that they called us.”

The Oilers (40-28-13) were called for five minor penalties, two of which were delay of game for flipping the puck over the boards. The Ducks had only two in the first two periods but were forced to kill three power plays in the third.

“We get a couple of two on ones in front of the net and there’s tripping and holding,” Selanne said. “They could have called three different things. I’m really disappointed about that. If that’s going to be the case, just tell us. No bench complaints. They talk about new rules but for the last little while, I don’t know what the new rules [are] anymore.”

Referees Bill McCreary and Kelly Sutherland didn’t have anything to do with a third period that the desperate Oilers dominated before finally capitalizing.

Defenseman Chris Pronger got the puck in his zone and sent a pass to Jarret Stoll, who streaked up ice without pressure. Stoll then broke in on goal with Hemsky on the right flank and fed the puck to the right wing.

Hemsky worked around Francois Beauchemin and went with a wrist shot that appeared to fool Jean-Sebastien Giguere with 33.3 seconds remaining.

“I got caught between the shot and the pass,” said Giguere, who had an otherwise strong game with 35 saves. “I thought he was going to pass it. He came in with a lot of speed. I think my job is to be more focused on the shot.”

The goal would help clinch a playoff spot in the West for the Oilers, secured with Vancouver’s loss to San Jose. It also extended their winning streak over the Ducks at Edmonton to 12 games extending over seven seasons.

Duck Coach Randy Carlyle acknowledged his frustration with the officiating, but said, “You got to play through it. This is playoff-type hockey and that’s what it was.”

Edmonton’s Ethan Moreau and the Ducks’ Andy McDonald traded goals in the first period.