Oilers Get Money’s Worth

Anaheim’s Bryan Murray coached his 1,000th NHL game Wednesday night. Unfortunately for him, the Mighty Ducks did not give him much to celebrate, losing to the Edmonton Oilers, 2-0.

The Ducks had their chances against rookie goaltender Jussi Markkanen but being shut out on seven power-play opportunities was their downfall as they dropped to 7-15-3-0.

“The guys are getting frustrated,� Murray said about the inept Duck power play. “What’s happening is that guys are squeezing the stick a little harder and they’re pressing harder than they should. Look at Jeff Friesen [five goals in 25 games]. He’s a natural goal scorer who has scored all through his career. But he’s pressing so hard, he’s not even giving himself a chance.�

Markkanen stopped 27 shots to join a short list of players who recorded shutouts in their first NHL start. With top forward Ryan Smyth sidelined for at least the next two months because of a broken ankle, forwards George Laraque and Shawn Horcoff picked up the slack, scoring the only goals as the Pacific Division-leading Oilers improved to 15-7-3-1.

“We wanted [Markkanen] to get that first win, that was important to us,� Laraque said. “Having him win like he did eliminates some pressure off [No. 1 goalie Tommy Salo] because he knows he can now rest some games.�

Being shut out at home by a rookie goalie making his NHL debut, the Ducks looked like a franchise headed nowhere fast.

Last season, the Ducks had the NHL’s eighth-highest payroll at $38.5 million and finished with the second-worst record in the league. This season, the Ducks have dropped to the middle of the pack with a $36.9 million payroll and are still among the league’s worst teams.

However, management still believes it is on the right track.

“Spending money is not an issue,� Anaheim General Manager Pierre Gauthier said earlier this month. “There’s never been an objection to money. That assumption is a fallacy. Last season we were eighth highest in payroll out of the 30 teams in the league, but the performance wasn’t there. So that was a formula that did not work.�

If the Ducks need a strategy that does work, they need to look at Edmonton, which has a payroll of only $30 million this season.

While franchises such as Colorado, Detroit, Washington and the New York Rangers were willing to spend money on huge contracts for the Joe Sakics, Dominik Haseks and Jaromir Jagrs of the league, the Oilers joined the Ducks and watched teams open their checkbooks in the offseason.

But there are some major differences between the franchises. The Oilers are winning and playing in front of packed houses at home, while the Ducks? Well, you know.

With Anaheim coming off a 1-7-2 stretch over its last 10 games, not too many fans showed up to watch the Ducks on Wednesday, even though the crowd was announced at 9,527.

The fans who did attend watched the Oilers jump out to a 1-0 lead on Laraque’s fourth goal of the season. Laraque, who is regarded as one of the best enforcers in the game, displayed some skill along with his strength when he dragged Anaheim defenseman Jason York into the slot before spinning and scoring on Steve Shields 10:51 into the opening period.

For the Duck offense, it was the same old story. Too much play on the perimeter and not enough traffic in front of the net. Their best chances didn’t come until the third period when they had several good looks but still couldn’t score, despite having a two-man advantage for 47 seconds midway into the period.

Edmonton put the game away late in the third when Horcoff added an insurance goal at 15:18.