DUCKS DROP ONE, BUT GET THE POINT.

Byline: ELLIOTT TEAFORD

Staff Writer

ANAHEIM -- Five steps forward, one step back.

All things considered, the Ducks said they could live with a lackluster 5-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday at the Honda Center.

Their five-game winning streak went buh-bye when David Vyborny of Columbus scored the only goal of a shootout in the fifth and deciding round.

But the Ducks (42-17-12) added another valuable point after forcing overtime on Chris Kunitz's goal with 1:50 remaining in regulation. They trail the league-leading Detroit Red Wings by three points and lead the Pacific Division by nine.

"We can't afford to be down," Coach Randy Carlyle said. "This group has worked too hard to let one game, a shootout loss, drag us down."

Still, the Ducks played an uneven game that ended up costing them a point in the standings. They were forced to rally from deficits of 3-2 and 4-3 just to get to the five-minute overtime, where they failed to click on a power play.

The Ducks also were blanked five tries in the shootout by Columbus goaltender Fredrik Norrena. The Blue Jackets (28-35-7) beat the Ducks for the second straight time.

What's more, the Ducks lost for the first time in five games without injured defenseman Chris Pronger in the lineup. Pronger underwent an X-ray Wednesday on his broken left big toe, but the results were not immediately available.

"At this stage, I don't think the X-ray will show anything but that it's broken," said Pronger, who was injured in a postgame workout March 4.

In addition, center Todd Marchant sat out for the 11th game because of an abdominal strain. Marchant skated for the second consecutive day on his own, but said he is not ready to practice with his teammates.

"It's slow going," Marchant said. "I've tired to maintain a positive attitude, but I would have liked to have been back a week ago."

Defenseman Francois Beauchemin, who has logged a good deal of additional ice time in Pronger's absence, scored twice in the second period Wednesday. The second of his two goals enabled the Ducks to tie the score at 3-3 at 13:02.

It was Beauchemin's first two-goal game of the season and the second since he was acquired in the trade that sent Sergei Fedorov to the Blue Jackets on Nov. 15, 2005. It was hardly a feat worthy of a celebration by game's end, according to Beauchemin.

"We probably didn't deserve anything because of the way we played tonight," he said. "We'll have to refocus for Friday (against Chicago). We've got to find a way to stay focused for every game for 60 minutes."

Trailing 4-3 after Rick Nash gave Columbus the lead with 7:11 remaining in the third period, the Ducks finally began to play with sustained intensity and were rewarded with Kunitz's tying goal to force overtime.

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Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere is unable to stop a goal by Columbus left wing Fredrik Modin on Wednesday.

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press