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Surging Ducks earn 5-3 victory over Oilers

Feb 17, 2016 - 7:04 AM EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) The Anaheim Ducks are soaring to new heights after a rough start to the season.

Andrew Cogliano's short-handed empty-net goal proved to be the winner, as the high-flying Ducks continued their winning ways with a 5-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.

David Perron, Jakob Silfverberg, Hampus Lindholm and Corey Perry also scored for the Ducks (29-19-8), who have won three in a row and 10 of their last 12 games to vault into second place in the Pacific Division, now three points back of the L.A. Kings.

''I think the last couple of times we've been tied in the second, they've been able to step it up a little bit and get enough for the win,'' Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said of his squad. ''When you can do that, that's a real positive sign going forward. I think we couldn't do that at the beginning (of the year) once a team got a goal up on us we weren't very good.''

The game featured a few lengthy delays that Perron felt threw both teams off.

''I think in the end we're just happy to be leaving with two points,'' he said. ''It was kind of a weird game. We couldn't get into a rhythm and it's a little frustrating on the bench with all those delays. That's why we're happy, we'll take the two points, move on and in the end, those are huge points for us.''

Leon Draisaitl, Taylor Hall and Benoit Pouliot responded for the Oilers (22-30-6), who have lost five of their last six.

''Eventually we have to start learning to win those types of games,'' said Oilers forward Connor McDavid. ''You look at the number of one-goal games that we have had and empty-net games, I think it is well over 50 per cent. It is kind of frustrating not being able to close out those ones.''

Edmonton head coach Todd McLellan said discipline was a problem for his team, with the Oilers taking four penalties.

''Dumb penalties,'' he said. ''It's unacceptable. We can't keep marching to the penalty box time and time again because of those penalties.''

The Ducks took a 1-0 lead on the power play with 52 seconds left to play, although it took longer to determine if Perron had indeed scored his 10th of the season. The play was first reviewed to see if he had kicked the puck in and then whether or not he had interfered with Oilers goalie Cam Talbot on a coach's challenge before being allowed.

A soft shot by Draisaitl somehow got through the legs of Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen to tie it up 1-1 for Edmonton two minutes into the second.

Anaheim went up 2-1 with five minutes left in the second frame as Ryan Kesler stole a puck and put it on to the stick of Silfverberg, who beat Talbot with a quick shot glove-side.

Hall pounced on a rebound to snap out of a 10-game scoring slump and once again draw the Oilers even a minute-and-a-half later.

The Ducks regained the lead five minutes into the third as Lindholm deflected a Rickard Rakell shot over the Oilers netminder.

Edmonton tried to tie it up with the goalie out on a late power play, but ended up allowing a shorthanded empty-netter to Cogliano.

Talbot remained out and the Oilers got one more as a Pouliot shot rebounded off of the head of Cam Fowler and into the net to make things interesting with 1:07 to play.

However, Perry added another empty-netter to put the game away.

Both teams return to action on Thursday, as the Ducks wrap up a seven-game road trip in Vancouver and the Oilers play host to the Minnesota Wild.