ANAHEIM, Calif. — Andrew Cogliano and Francois Beauchemin each had a goal and an assist, and the Anaheim Ducks clinched their third straight Pacific Division title with a 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night.
Corey Perry, Nate Thompson and Simon Despres also scored in the fourth straight win for the NHL-leading Ducks, who became the first team to wrap up a division race with their eighth victory in 10 games overall.
Frederik Andersen made 22 saves, and Jakob Silfverberg had a career-high three assists in a dominant effort by the Ducks, who lead Nashville by four points for home-ice advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored and Ben Scrivens stopped 22 shots for the 28th-place Oilers, whose three-game winning streak ended.
Anaheim swept the clubs’ four-game season series.
Beauchemin started the scoring with his career-high 11th goal, Perry scored his 600th career point on his 33rd goal of the season, and the Ducks jumped to a 4-0 lead in the second period. Cogliano then scored on a penalty shot in the third.
The Ducks (50-22-7) have won an NHL-best 50 games for the second straight season and the second time in club history. They ran away with the Pacific, staying in first place every day since Nov. 12.
They are also atop the NHL standings with a four-point lead over the Rangers and Nashville, but would need help from New York to win the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy.
Anaheim has an NHL-low three games left, with only two in the final eight days of the regular season, while the Rangers still have six games to play.
In a concession to their eighth game in 15 days, the Ducks rested second-line centre Ryan Kesler, who has a minor arm injury. Anaheim also scratched forward Matt Beleskey and defenceman Clayton Stoner, who have both been nursing lower-body injuries.
Beauchemin put the Ducks ahead just 3:43 in, taking a drop pass from Silfverberg on the rush and putting a wrist shot around Thompson’s screen. Long known as a stay-at-home defenceman, Beauchemin has turned into a regular goal-scorer in his 10th NHL season.
Thompson then scored on a one-timer from Silfverberg after an awful turnover behind Edmonton’s net by Justin Schultz. The Oilers defenceman is booed whenever he touches the puck at Honda Center for his decision in 2012 to use a technicality to become a free agent and spurn the Ducks, who drafted him in the second round.
Perry got his team-leading 33rd goal midway through the second. A few minutes later, Despres added his first goal since joining the Ducks last month.
Nugent-Hopkins scored his 24th goal late in the period.
Cogliano scored his first career penalty-shot goal on his third career attempt.