Hall has goal, 2 assists in Oilers' win over Ducks
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) All that is left for the Edmonton Oilers to do in the regular season is to spoil the postseason plans of others.
Taylor Hall had a goal and two assists, and the Oilers beat the Pacific Division-leading Anaheim Ducks 4-2 on Sunday night.
David Perron, Jordan Eberle and Justin Schultz also scored for the Oilers (28-42-9), who have won two in a row.
''Playing the role of spoilers can be a lot of fun,'' said Hall, who moved into seventh place in the NHL scoring race with 77 points. ''To get on a team that really needed those points tonight was good.
''To play a good solid third period against a team like this and not give up a lot was nice. It was a learning game for us. It wasn't perfect by any means, but for the most part we shut them down.''
It is the third time the teams have met in the past two weeks. The Oilers beat the Ducks 4-3 in overtime on March 28, and Anaheim edged Edmonton 3-2 on Wednesday.
Perron said the Oilers showed a lot to keep the Ducks from rallying.
''I liked the way that we kept going when it was 3-2,'' he said. ''It was a good game all around. At this point there isn't a whole lot to play for, and to get that kind of energy was pretty cool.
''We want to keep our momentum going into next year and play this kind of hockey right from the start. We had a lot of great emotion.''
Oilers coach Dallas Eakins said three second-period fights had an effect on the outcome.
''It certainly rattled their team,'' he said. ''They are a composed group in Anaheim, and then when the first one erupted, that seemed to set them off the tracks a little bit. I thought they got distracted. I think it worked in our favor.
''They were so upset they were even yelling at me, which is always great when I didn't even throw a punch.''
Jakob Silfverberg and Corey Perry scored for the Ducks (50-20-8), who have lost two straight and remained just one point ahead of the idle San Jose Sharks in the Pacific.
''We're struggling finding ways to win hockey games right now,'' Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said. ''I thought we started a lot better than we have in the past and were in a hockey game.
''We let our emotions get the best of us a little bit there for a while, and I thought that was a little bit counterproductive, and that's our responsibility, me and (Perry).''
Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said it was an up-and-down performance by goalie Jonas Hiller.
''It's tough. I thought (Hiller) played well in the first period. Then there were a couple in the second that he could have had,'' Boudreau said. ''Then in the third, he regained his form again. It's one of those things where he's really lacking in confidence, and once the first one went in, he was a little worried until he regained his composure.''
The Ducks took a 1-0 lead just 1:20 into the game. Edmonton goalie Viktor Fasth made the initial stop on Silfverberg, but the rebound caromed off of teammate Sam Gagner and trickled into the net.
The Oilers nearly tied it with five minutes left in the first when Perron made a nice pass to a hard-charging Ryan Smyth, but Hiller quickly came across and made the save.
The Oilers did get even six minutes into the second period with a power-play goal when Hall banked a puck in off Hiller with a shot from the side of the net for his 27th of the season.
Perron kept pace with Hall for the team's goal-scoring lead three minutes later while Edmonton was short-handed. He beat Hiller with an off-balance shot from the right circle for his 27th. It was Edmonton's fourth short-handed goal of the season.
The Oilers took a 3-1 lead with just over three minutes left in the second period when Eberle swung a puck out front, and the rebound remained loose in the crease before a pinching Schultz tapped it in.
The Ducks got back within a goal during a power play just 25 seconds into the third period when Perry tipped a Ryan Getzlaf's long wrist shot from the point past Fasth for his 42nd goal.
Edmonton withstood a ton of pressure before getting an insurance goal. Eberle also scored his team-leading 27th with an empty-net goal.
Fasth made 34 saves to earn his first win against his former team.
''The guys played great in front of me,'' Fasth said. ''They cleared a lot of rebounds and blocked a lot of shots. It was a great team effort.
''Of course it is special to play against them and get the win. I have a lot of friends on that team and played for them for a year.''
NOTES: It was the fifth and final meeting between the Oilers and Ducks this season. Anaheim went 3-1-1 in the series. The Ducks had won 12 of the past 15 games in Edmonton. ... The Ducks allowed six first-period goals in their three games heading into Edmonton. ... With the playoffs looming, Anaheim rested its two oldest players, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu. The Ducks were also without G Frederik Andersen (upper body) and D Cam Fowler (knee). ... LW Jesse Joensuu (ankle), LW Ryan Jones (knee), RW Tyler Pitlick (knee), LW Luke Gazdic (shoulder), RW Nail Yakupov (ankle) and D Andrew Ference (chest) sat out for Edmonton.
