(SportsNetwork.com) - The Anaheim Ducks will try to forge a tie atop the Pacific Division standings when they visit the lowly Edmonton Oilers for Friday's matchup at Rexall Place.
The Ducks already locked up a playoff spot earlier this week, but earning a third straight win in Friday's contest would allow Anaheim to tie the Sharks for first place in the Pacific. The Ducks hold three games in hand over San Jose, which is off Friday before visiting Colorado on Saturday.
Anaheim recorded a 3-2 win in Calgary on Wednesday to begin a three-game road. The Ducks have won two in a row and four of six since a four-game slide from March 5-12. Another victory this evening would secure the club's first three- game winning streak since Feb. 8-March 2.
The Ducks, who are 22-11-3 on the road, rallied for a 3-2 win in Calgary on Wednesday. Anaheim trailed the Flames 2-1 after 40 minutes, but Mathieu Perreault and Andrew Cogliano scored in the third period to help deliver the win for the Ducks.
Perreault and Cogliano scored in identical fashion, with each one banging home a rebound of a shot from the point. A blocker save by Flames goaltender Karri Ramo resulted in a scramble and Perreault tied the game at 2-2 at 5:32 of the third, sweeping in the loose puck.
Cogliano jumped on a rebound and buried a shot from near the bottom of the left circle, giving the Ducks the lead with 5:19 remaining.
Anaheim exacted a measure of revenge in the win over the Flames, as the Ducks avenged a 7-2 loss at the Saddledome on March 12.
Jonas Hiller made 32 saves for Anaheim, which fired 25 of its 34 shots on net after the first period.
"There was sloppy play in front of our net, but I think we never gave up and kept coming," said Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau.
The Ducks are scheduled to complete their current trip tomorrow night in Vancouver.
The Oilers, meanwhile, are headed for their eighth straight season out of the playoffs and the club hasn't appeared too interested in playing a spoiler role down the stretch. Edmonton enters Friday's tilt on a three-game skid and the club has been outscored by a whopping 16-4 margin during the 0-3-0 slide.
Things don't figure to get any easier for the Oilers on Friday, as the Ducks have dominated Edmonton in recent years, winning six straight and 16 of the last 18 encounters in this series. Anaheim has claimed the first two of five meetings between the clubs this season and will shoot for its 12th straight win at Rexall Place tonight.
After getting slammed by the visiting Calgary Flames, 8-1, last Friday, the Oilers fell to 1-3-0 on a six-game homestand with Tuesday's 5-2 setback against San Jose. Edmonton grabbed a 1-0 lead at 4:11 of the opening period, but the Sharks scored the game's next five goals to breeze to the victory.
David Perron gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead early in the game, but the Oilers wouldn't score again until Taylor Hall made it a 5-2 contest with 5:04 left in the third period.
Ben Scrivens allowed all five goals on 34 shots for the Oilers. Scrivens set an NHL record for the most saves in a regular-season shutout when he turned aside 59 shots in a 3-0 win against the Sharks on Jan. 29, but the Edmonton netminder was done in by the Sharks' potent power-play unit, which went 3- for-3 on the night.
"They got three on the power play and we didn't score one," Perron remarked. "Obviously, our special teams have to be better."
Edmonton is 13-19-3 at Rexall Place this season and will complete its homestand Sunday against the New York Rangers.
Nail Yakupov will miss his fifth straight game for the Oilers due to an ankle injury. The first overall pick of the 2012 draft has 11 goals and 13 assists in 63 games this season after notching 31 points (17 goals, 14 assists) in 48 games as a rookie.
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