DUCKS TRY, BUT ONLY TIE WINGS : DUCKS 2, DETROIT 2.

Byline: Tim Trepany Daily News Staff Writer

They've vaulted into the playoff race with the most impressive run in franchise history, but the Mighty Ducks weren't ready to take a bold step Friday night.

The Ducks were a little more than three minutes from beating the Detroit Red Wings for the first time ever but couldn't pull it off.

Sergei Fedorov's power-play goal at 16 minutes, 52 seconds of the third tied it for Detroit and the game ended in a 2-2 tie at Anaheim Arena.

Power-play goals by Roman Oksiuta and Paul Kariya positioned the Ducks for the win, but Fedorov's one-timer of Steve Yzerman's cross-ice pass got past goalie Guy Hebert.

The tie moved the Ducks, who are 8-2-2 in their past 12 games, within three points of the Winnipeg Jets for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, but a victory would have served as a further symbol of their arrival as a quality team.

Detroit (58-13-7), which remained two games shy of the NHL record for most wins in a season, has been struggling on this road trip, having lost on Tuesday at San Jose and tying the Kings on Wednesday, but no team has given the Ducks more problems than the Red Wings. In 11 meetings over three seasons, the Ducks were 0-9-2 against Detroit and in three previous meetings this season, the Red Wings had outscored them 16-4.

The Red Wings vaunted power play - the third best in the NHL at 21.1 percent - had owned the Ducks in those three contests, getting seven goals on 15 man advantages. Friday, the Ducks penalty-killing unit stopped the Red Wings on three of their first four power plays, including one in the third period, but couldn't make it four out of five.

An elbowing penalty on defenseman Darren Van Impe put the Red Wings on the power play the final time.

The Ducks played strong defense throughout, holding the Red Wings without a shot at even strength for more than 13 minutes, but a stupid penalty set up Detroit's first goal.

After Ducks defenseman David Karpa was sent to the penalty box for cross-checking Vladimir Konstantinov, right wing Darren McCarty took advantage and scored a power-play goal at 5:47 of the first period.

Red Wings left wing Vyacheslav Kozlov sent a shot from the left circle that went off the skate of Van Impe, who was in front of the net, and off Hebert's right pad. But the deflection went to McCarty, who scored his 14th goal of the season.

The Red Wings weren't able to attempt another shot for nearly eight minutes, when Fedorov broke the drought at 13:30.

The Ducks continued to hold off Detroit in the second period and got power-play goals from Oksiuta and Kariya to take a 2-1 lead.

Oksiuta took a pass from Kariya and beat goalie Chris Osgood on the stick side at 16:57, then assisted, along with Bobby Dollas, on a goal by Kariya with 41.4 seconds left in the second period.

From the high slot, Kariya beat Osgood high on the stick side for his 45th goal this season.

Center J.F. Jomphe just missed adding an insurance goal in the third period, when Osgood made a kick save on his shot, then plucked the puck out of the air as it sailed toward the net.

Right wing Teemu Selanne had three good scoring opportunities during the second period for the Ducks but failed to convert any. Notes: The Ducks signed right wing Igor Nikulin, their 1995 fifth-round pick, to a one-year contract that begins next season. In 35 games playing for Cherepovets in the Russian elite league, the 23-year-old Nikulin had 17 goals and 28 points.

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Chart: NHL Playoff Race