THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER — Marty Reasoner and Jarret Stoll scored second-period goals and Dwayne Roloson made 37 saves as the Edmonton Oilers ended Vancouver’s playoff hopes with a 2-1 victory over the Canucks on Thursday night.
The Oilers played spoilers after being eliminated from the post-season with a loss to Calgary on Tuesday night. With one game remaining, the Canucks can’t catch either the Flames or the Nashville Predators for the final playoff spot.
A Vancouver victory would have created a Saturday playoff showdown against Calgary. In the end, neither Nashville’s win nor Calgary’s loss mattered as the Canucks struggled to score on Roloson despite enjoying a 38-21 edge in shots before a disappointed sellout crowd of 18,630 at GM Place.
The veteran goaltender helped the Oilers withstand a frantic finish after Alex Burrows finally scored for Vancouver on a power play at 13:03 of the third period.
The Canucks missed the playoffs for the second time in three seasons after winning the Northwest Division title in 2006-07, earning a No. 3 seed in the playoffs and posting an opening-round victory over the Dallas Stars.
The Oilers became the first team to conclude the regular season, finishing with a 41-35-6 mark.
The Canucks desperately needed the victory because Nashville, the team ahead of them in the race for a post-season berth, defeated St. Louis earlier Thursday. Vancouver also caught a break as Calgary bowed to Minnesota in another Northwest Division matchup.
Stoll scored the winning goal on a power play at 18:30 of the second period, even though he missed most of it after being hit in the head by teammate Steve Staios’ clearing shot. The goal came while Trevor Linden was serving a slashing penalty.
Power plays ultimately proved to be the difference as the Canucks went 1-for-8 and the Oilers scored once on four chances. Vancouver was denied during a full five-minute advantage in the second period after Mathieu Roy was ejected for boarding Vancouver defenceman Mike Weaver.
Reasoner gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead at 8:52 of the second period as he poked in Fernando Pisani’s rebound while falling on Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo.
The loss left Vancouver with only one win in its last six games during a pivotal stretch drive.
The Oilers had several dangerous chances early but repeatedly missed the net. Edmonton was not credited with its first shot on goal until Robert Nilsson’s shot from a sharp angle with 5:25 left in the scoreless first period.
Joni Pitkanen’s interference penalty at 11:31 of the third period set the stage for Burrows’ goal.
Notes : The Canucks recalled Jannik Hansen on an emergency basis after Matt Pettinger came down with a sudden case of the flu. Pettinger was healthy enough to play, so Hansen was scratched. If Pettinger had not been sent home from the morning skate, Vancouver would not have been allowed to bring in Hansen because the club has used all of its allowable recalls. … Canucks equipment manager Barrie Stafford was on the bench for his 2,000th NHL game.
