The Ducks were on a three-game winning streak and still wanted to keep their infinitesimal glimmer of a playoff chance alive.  The Canucks were trounced and trampled 8-3by the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.  You can be sure they did not want a repeat performance against the Ducks on Friday night.

Things were much closer between the two teams in a fast and furious paced contest.  In the end, it was the Canucks that edged out the Ducks with a 5-4 shootout victory.  Anaheim earned a point, but they needed both of them.

As they did in the last game, the line of Saku Koivu, Jason Blake and Teemu Selanne remained hot.  All three past winners of the Masterton trophy contributed to the scoresheet once again.

Koivu lifted a shot up and over Andrew Raycroft at 3:01 of the second period to get the Ducks on the board.   Even though Michael Grabner tied up the game at 10:07, placing a nice shot behind Curtis McElhinney, getting his fourth start in a row, the Ducks persisted.

A fortuitous 5 on 3 opportunity presented itself to the Ducks and they seemed happy to take advantage.  Selanne scored goal #602 at 14:31 with both Alexander Burrows and Jannik Hansen in the box, Hansen there four minutes for high sticking.  The goal put Selanne in sole possession of 17th on the all-time goal list, moving ahead of fellow Finn, Jari Kurri. 

"I'd rather not pass him and have these points to give us still a chance," said Selanne, acknowledging the bittersweet milestone.  "What happened earlier in the season put us behind the eight ball.  In October, November, we lost games that we were not supposed to lose.  Those points are killing us now."

The Ducks could not add to the lead on the extended power play time, even though they spent most of the time in the Canucks end.  They still took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission, but would regret not having more of a cushion.

The lead was short lived as Grabner roofed another beauty behind McElhinney just 1:22 into the third period.   Hats off to the youngster at 3:55 when he tipped in a Christian Ehrhoff's blue line shot for his first career hat trick.  The Canuck fan filled lower bowl happily tossed a few chapeaus onto the ice to celebrate the first Vancouver lead of the game.

"I've been here for a few games now," said Grabner, who played in just his 17th game this season.  "I've had a lot of chances and didn't get one in, so it's nice to get the first couple out of the way."

Selanne's second power play goal of the evening at 9:20 tied up the game again.  It also moved Selanne to #9 all-time on the power play goals list ahead of Mike Gartner with 218 goals.  More than a third of Selanne's goals have been with the man advantage.

The back and forth scoring continued with someone not named Grabner putting the Canucks ahead once more at 13:33.  Hansen finished off the rebound of Ehrhoff's shot that McElhinney could not control. 

Time was winding down, but the tired Canucks took another penalty late.  The Ducks took a time out, then pulled McElhinney to make it 6 on 4.  It only took :15 seconds, but it seemed like an eternity before Koivu got his second goal of the game at 18:36.

Overtime saw chances on both sides, including to glorious post shots by the Canucks.  Anaheim just could not get it done in the shootout.  Corey Perry scored on his attempt, but McElhinney, in his first shootout, was unable to stop Kyle Wellwood and Pavol Demitra.  Andrew Raycroft made two great stops on Selanne and Bobby Ryan, and the that was it.  Game over.

"One is good, but we were going for two (points)," said Troy Bodie after the game.  "We know we're still in the hunt."

After the game, McElhinney spent a long time sitting in his stall, deep in thought and clearly feeling the weight of the Ducks burden upon his shoulders.  He made 36 saves in another impressive performance, but none of that seemed to matter to him.  In his eyes, he was responsible for the loss and seemed unable to forgive himself for his lack of perfection.   One wanted to remind him that in the end, it really is just a game.

So the Ducks wend their way up the freeway to have a final two games in a home and home series with the Kings.  The Kings want to solidify a playoff spot and the Ducks would enjoy nothing more than spoiling those attempts and keeping their own dimming hopes alive.    

In other notes:  Brendan Mikkelson was sent back to the Toronto Marlies earlier today.  Ryan Getzlaf missed his fourth game since reinjuring his ankle.  Jonas Hiller missed his third game with back spasms.  James Wisniewski served the final game of his eight-game suspension.  He is eligible to return on Saturday night against the Kings.

The Ducks have been busy in the past couple of days.  They have recalled defenseman Nathan Oystrick from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL.  The 27 year-old was acquired from Atlanta in exchange for Evgeny Artyukhin.  This would be an opportunity to see what the physical d-man can do, again with a look to next season.

The Ducks also played back-up goalie switcheroo.  They sent JP Levasseur back to Springfield and recalled Joey MacDonald from the Toronto Marlies.  Jonas Hiller remains out with back spasms and Curtis McElhinney has been performing admirably in his absence.  In fact, the Ducks have won the past three games that McElhinney has been in net.  MacDonald will take his turn at being the back-up.

In other Ducks news, defenseman Mat Clark was signed to a three-year contract earlier this week.  The 19 year-old remains with his OHL club.  Announcement of another signing, of forward Peter Holland, is expected to come out soon.  Holland, drafted in 2009, had a strong training camp and is reputed to be signed to a three year deal as well.

A week ago the Ducks had lost two in a row on the road, Ryan Getzlaf reinjured his ankle and the team decided to throw in the towel in the playoff race.  Rather than continue to push for what seemed impossible, the Ducks took a look at some young players with a view to the future.

Since that time, they have won all three games, including two on the road, and have bounced back from 11 points out of a playoff spot to 7 points out of a playoff spot.

Is it likely the Ducks will squeak into the playoffs with six games left to play?   A defeat to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night would have all but eliminated the team.  Instead, the Ducks had a decisive 5-2 victory over the slumping Avalanche and that glimmer of hope still exists.  A teeny tiny glimmer, but a glimmer nonetheless.

Getting it done against the Avalanche was a team effort, but the line of Jason Blake, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu were the ones on the scoresheet.

Blake figured into every Ducks goal with one goal and four assists and a +5 on the evening.  Koivu had a goal and three assists and was +4.  Selanne got goal #601 to tie him with Jari Kurri, as well as another assist and was also +5.

It appeared that the Avalanche scored first, early in the game, but Cody McLeod's stick was deemed higher than the crossbar and therefore the goal was waved off after a review.

So Steve Eminger got the party started at 15:40 of the first period.  Craig Anderson, who was not as sharp as he has been all season for Colorado, misplayed the puck.   Blake intercepted it, got it to Koivu and Eminger finished it off.

The Ducks took advantage of another turnover late in the period with Koivu scoring at 19:56.   Taking a 2-0 lead into the intermission was far better than a 1-0 lead and the Avs never could recover.

Milan Hejduk got the Avs on the board at 13:22 of the second period with a power play goal.  Curtis McElhinney, getting his third consecutive start, had no chance on the shot.

The Avs remained hopeful of getting back in the game until Scott Niedermayer had a tight angle shot that seemed to literally go through two people to make it into the net behind Anderson at 19:30.

Colorado refused to die and came out shooting in the third period.  Another turnover cost them.  The odd man rush down the other end resulted in Selanne's 601^st goal, 22^nd of the year, at 2:34.  Blake extended the lead further at 12:02 and his five points ties a club record for most points in a game.

Darcy Tucker made it 5-2 at 13:26, but that was it for the Avs.  They have now lost six of the past seven games, stalled in the standings.  For a team that was predicted to be last in the Western Conference, they have been the little engine that could, defying the odds and staying consistent all season.  Until now.

However, the Avs misfortune could be to the Ducks benefit.  There is another team, the Kings, also struggling a bit as the regular season comes to a close.  The Ducks play them twice more before the season is done and those points could be huge.

Next up is the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.  The Canucks play the Kings on Thursday night, and a win for Vancouver would seal up a playoff spot for them.  It would also continue to put the Kings in a precarious position.

The Ducks have recalled J.P. Levasseur from the AHL to act as interim back-up goaltender.  Last night Jonas Hiller experienced back spasms during the warm-up prior to the game against Dallas and Curtis McElhinney was given his second start in a row.  After further evaluation this morning, the Ducks felt it best to recall Levasseur until Hiller is deemed ready to go.

Anaheim is now headed to Colorado for a one-game road trip.  They will play the Avalanche for the final time this season on Wednesday night.  If Hiller remains day to day, McElhinney will get his third start in a row and hopefully his third win in a row.

When Jari Kurri scored #600 in 1998, there were not many members of the 600 club.  12 years later, and Teemu Selanne is still only the 18th member of the club.  Kurri, Selanne's boyhood idol and teammate for one season on the Ducks, was flown in from Finland to help honor Selanne's milestone before the game on Monday night.  Selanne's family was also there, along with his mom, Liisa.   

While the initial focus was on celebrating Selanne, the Ducks were even happier to celebrate a victory over the Dallas Stars.

Before the game Kurri said he would be ok seeing his friend tie and/or pass him at 601 goals. 

"I gave up a long time ago so I’m ready to see it now!"

Kurri would have to wait.  Selanne could not even put the puck in the empty net at the end of the game and finished with 8 unfulfilled shots on goal. 

The Ducks had an extra jump in their step from the moment the puck dropped, but could not get anything past Kari Lehtonen until the second period.   Then the floodgates opened. 

Nick Bonino, playing in only his second game, got his first ever NHL goal at 8:11.  The power play goal was assisted by Selanne.  Not a bad way to start your career.  Selanne, who scored 76 in his rookie year, happily dragged the puck out of the net for the souvenir and told Bonino he still remembers his first one.

Bonino did not look out of place in his first game, and he was equally comfortable in his second.  He agreed that his first would also be remembered for the rest of his life.

"It's incredible when I get on the ice with Selanne, Perry, Niedermayer," reflected Bonino.  "You really can't do any wrong.  I got an opportunity and I'm just trying to make the best of it."

Corey Perry scored at 12:41 and Kyle Chipchura made it 3-0 less than a minute later at 13:30.   Time out by Dallas, who at that point was being outshot 25 - 13.  It was not Lehtonen's fault for lettin' in all those goals.  He got virtually zero support from his teammates in front of him.   Despite the score, Lehtonen still ended up making 43 saves in the game.

The Stars got one goal behind Curtis McElhinney, who started in net for the second game in a row as Jonas Hiller had back spasms during the warm up.  Loui Erikkson had a beautiful shot that circled around McElhinney at 14:49.

That was it for the Stars, even though they poured it on in the third period.  McElhinney stood firm, stopping 30 shots, 14 of them in the third period alone. 

"That's the way he played in the last game for us," said coach Randy Carlyle.  "He just continues to prove that he's a quality goaltender.  He had to make some big stops, but they didn't get too many second and third opportunities.  A lot of the pucks that were directed his way were swallowed up, and that's a great sign for a goalie."

The Ducks now head back out again to Colorado for a single road game on Wednesday.   

In other notes:  Aaron Ward was out with a bruised foot suffered when blocking a shot against Edmonton on Friday night.  Ryan Getzlaf continues to be day to day with an re-injured ankle.  For Dallas, Mike Ribeiro sat in the pressbox as punishment for missing a team meeting on Sunday.  He did not look happy.

After losing the first two road games, the Ducks finally got a road win with a 3-2 victory over Edmonton on Friday night.   The Ducks are now 12-20-5 on the road this season, so winning one out of three is about average.

It is also part of the reason why the Ducks are not in playoff contention for the first time since 2004, prior to the lockout.    You have to win more than 1 in 3 to be a contender.

Knowing that they were out of it, although not yet mathematically eliminated, the Ducks decided to give the youngsters a look, with a view towards next season.

Curtis McElhinney got his first start in goal, giving Jonas Hiller the first night off in 20 consecutive games.  McElhinney made 34 saves for the win and performed well for the team.

Nick Bonino, a Boston College standout who was signed last week, got his first taste of the NHL.  He got to play part of the time on the top line with Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan.  Ryan Getzlaf, who re-tweaked his ankle in the previous game, did not play and could use some time off to fully heal his injury.  Bonino, a center, played 13:39 in his debut, and was 57% in the face off circle.  If he had any nerves, they didn't show and he didn't make any glaring errors.

Veterans Todd Marchant and Jason Blake got to take a seat in the pressbox so that Ryan Carter and George Parros could get back in the line-up.  Defenseman Brendan Mikkelson, recalled before the road trip, took the place of Brett Festerling.

Perhaps playing more relaxed with the pressure of making the playoffs clearly off their shoulders, the Ducks managed to get it done.   Parros scored a rare goal, with a helper from Carter, at 8:18 of the first period.

Edmonton tied up the game at 5:52 with a goal from Gilbert Brule and the game remained tied until the third period.

The third period kept the officials busy with penalties and a few misconducts, including one by former Duck, Ryan Whitney, at the end of the game.  That led to several power play opportunities, including a 5 on 3 that the Ducks capitalized on.

Perry got the first one at 12:30, and :08 seconds before the second penalty could expire, he did it again to make it 3-1.  Teemu Selanne got assists on both of Perry's goals, giving him the sole possession of 56^th all time on the assists list with 652 assists, passing up Brett Hull.

Edmonton pulled Jeff Deslauriers for the extra attacker and with a 5 on 3 of their own, it became a 6 on 3.  Then it became 3-2, with Marc Pouliot scoring with :20 seconds left.

Luckily the Ducks held on for the win, with Scott Niedermayer making the final clear and allowing a sigh of relief.

Next up is the Dallas Stars on Monday, another team that has struggled this year and will also miss the playoffs.  Prior to the game, Selanne will be honored for goal #600 and Jari Kurri, sitting with 601 goals, will fly in from Finland for the ceremony.

Perhaps Selanne will score #601 and #602 in front of Kurri?  At this point, it's all that Ducks fans have left to look forward to.

After a year without a dedicated AHL affiliate, the Anaheim Ducks have finally found a home for their developing players   Yesterday, the Ducks announced a multi-year affiliation agreement with the Syracuse Crunch, set to begin with the 2010-11 season.

"We are thrilled to be affiliating with the Syracuse Crunch in such a great hockey market," said GM Bob Murray. "Syracuse is steeped in hockey tradition and we are excited to partner with an ownership and management team that shares the same commitment to winning and player development as we do."

The Ducks most recent affiliate, the Iowa Chops, did not work out after one year, due to the Chops not meeting their end of their obligations.  The Ducks had desired an affiliate closer to California, which is why they had moved from the Portland Pirates in Maine.

Now, the Ducks go back east again, this time in Syracuse, New York.  The Crunch are currently in their 16th year of operation in the AHL, tied for the sixth-longest tenure of any AHL team.

"This is an honor and thrill for our organization, to partner with the Anaheim Ducks - one of the truly elite franchises in the National Hockey League," said Crunch President and CEO Howard Dolgon. "They are a team with a proven winning track record on both the NHL and minor league levels and have highly experienced and very well-respected hockey people running their operation. We look forward to a long and successful relationship and can't wait to get started."

Syracuse has most recently been the affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

This year, without a primary affiliate, the Ducks have spread their minor league players to the Manitoba Moose, San Antonio Rampage and Toronto Marlies.  Other players have spent time in Bakersfield in the Ducks ECHL affiliate.

It has not been an ideal situation at all.

"It's hard for the players," said assistant GM David McNab. "Everybody got treated well and got ice time, but it's tough because no matter where you are, you're not going to be the first concern of the coaching staff. It's just human nature that you're not going to jeopardize the development of your own players for players from another organization."

Having a place to develop your players and learn the system will only benefit the Ducks and their upcoming players.

The sound you hear in the distance is the orchestra warming up.  The fat lady will be coming out shortly to sing.

The Ducks continued woes on the road this entire season were a main contributor to them not getting into the playoffs for the first time since the 2003-2004 season.   Not one single person on the roster today can remember that season because none of them played on the team that year.  Not even Teemu Selanne, who was languishing with a bad knee in Colorado that year.

Every single one of the players better remember the feeling this year and make sure it does not happen again.

The latest 4-1 defeat to Vancouver on Wednesday night gave the Ducks an 11-20-5 record on the road.  Winning one out of three games on the road will not get you a playoff spot.

Worse, the defeat dropped them to 13^th place in the Western Conference a whopping 11 points behind Detroit.  How many points before they are mathematically eliminated altogether?

The magic number is seven.  Lose two more, and Detroit wins two more and you can start officially making those tee times and off-season vacation plans.

"It's a lot of fun when things are working out," said Henrik Sedin, who had three assists in the game last night and now has 99 points on the season.

For the Ducks, it sure isn't fun for them right now.

Christian Ehrhoff scored on the power play in the first period and Daniel Sedin made it 2-0 going into the second.  A critical error by Brett Festerling behind the net meant that he coughed up the puck to Henrik, and Alexander Burrows made it 3-0 and unreachable for the Ducks.

The only thing the Ducks put past Andrew Raycroft, getting a rare start in net, was Saku Koivu's goal from Selanne midway through the third.   They had chances, but nothing else would go in.

Ryan Kesler sealed the deal with an empty net goal at the end.  Although it seemed ridiculous to expect two goals in the final minute from a team that couldn't put it together for 60 minutes.

The Ducks now go lick their wounds back to Alberta for a game against Edmonton.  Edmonton has already been eliminated from the playoffs.

Like an out of control, rapidly accelerating Toyota, the Ducks are careening towards elimination, too, with no seeming ability to find the brakes or even put it in neutral.

Both Calgary and Anaheim are on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs.  Prior to their game on Tuesday, both teams were treating it as a game 7, must-win, elimination game.  At the end of the evening, a 3-1 victory over Anaheim left Calgary two points out of a playoff spot.  The Ducks?  Nine points out and falling further behind.

It was not a bad game by the Ducks.  It was merely a better game by the Flames.

The Flames were defensively minded, countering the Ducks every move and not allowing them to get many chances.

"Defensively, I thought we reacted well to situations," said Flames coach Brent Sutter. "I thought we did a good job of reacting properly and making sure our support was good in our zone."

They were also disciplined, not giving up a single power play to Anaheim.

The Ducks had just gotten their power play going again, after it had lain dormant for too long.  Coach Randy Carlyle had acknowledged that "specialty teams will be critical in big games," but the only specialty team he was able to use was the penalty kill.  Unfortunately, it was foiled by a fluke goal.

Steve Staios took a long shot from the blue line that caught Nigel Dawes as he was coming to the front of the net.  It bounced off of Dawes leg and into the net behind Jonas Hiller at 15:11.  Only :07 seconds had elapsed in the penalty to Steve Eminger, but that made it 1-0.

The Ducks tied up the game in the second period.  Miikka Kiprusoff was screened by Todd Marchant and Scott Niedermayer was able to get the puck over the blocker and into the net at 14:24.

Back on an even footing, the Ducks seemed hopeful that things could turn.  They did.  In Calgary's favor.

Corey Perry, trying to do too much with the puck, lost it to Jarome Iginla.  Rene Bourque took off with it and put it through the five-hole at 18:25 to give the Flames the lead once more.

Going into the third period, the Flames continued to shut the Ducks down at every opportunity.  At 3:05, Niklas Hagman got the insurance marker and that was all she wrote.  The Flames are now 30-1-1 when leading after two periods.  The Ducks could learn a lot from them about how to keep a lead.

"We made a couple mistakes," said Saku Koivu. "They got a lucky one there in the first on the power play and then they capitalized on the chances they got. It's a tough one to take."

It has been a long uphill climb from the pit the Ducks have dug themselves into.  Just when you think there is some light, the Ducks slip back once more.

They have a chance to right the ship this evening against Vancouver, but even if they do, the clock is running out on their season.

The Ducks recalled defenseman Brendan Mikkelson from the Toronto Marlies today.  With James Wisniewski serving an eight-game suspension, the Ducks are left with six defensemen on the roster.  If something were to happen to one of them while on the road trip, the Ducks stated they did not want to have to put newcomer, Jake Newton, into a game situation unprepared.

Mikkelson is joining the Ducks in Calgary, where they will play this evening.

Also, the Ducks added to their collegiate signings by adding center Rob Bordson.  He was signed to a two-year entry-level contract. Bordson, 21, played for the University of Minnesota-Duluth and was named Inside College Hockey’s Breakthrough Player of the Year in the WCHA.