Edler scores in OT to lift Canucks past Oilers in finale

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Canucks goalie Ryan Miller was glad to get back in a game before the start of the playoffs.

Miller finished with 23 saves in his first start since injuring his knee Feb. 22, Alex Edler scored 2:29 into overtime and Vancouver rallied to beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-5 on Saturday night in the final game of the regular season.

The Canucks had already clinched home-ice advantage against Calgary in their first-round playoff series when the Flames lost against Winnipeg earlier in the day.

''It really wasn't a game that you would say meant a whole lot. Our position was locked up,'' said Miller, who has not lost in 12 career meetings against Edmonton, including five this season. ''But it meant a lot for me because I wanted to get back on track.''

Vancouver head coach Willie Desjardin is expected to go with Eddie Lack in Game 1 on Wednesday against Calgary. Lack has been impressive since Miller went down, going 12-6-2 with a 2.36 goals-against average.

Despite allowing five goals, Desjardin liked what he saw in Miller's return.

''I thought he got better as the game went on,'' Desjardin said. ''He had some real tough shots. I thought for his first game back, he was good.''

Sven Baertschi scored twice, and Daniel Sedin, Kevin Bieksa and Jannik Hansen also scored for the Canucks, who rallied after trailing 2-0, 4-2 and 5-3.

Edler capped the comeback in overtime after taking a feed on a 2-on-1 with Daniel Sedin.

''It was a 2-on-1 with Danny ... if you put your stick down you're probably going to get the puck,'' Edler said.

Jordan Eberle, Nail Yakupov, Benoit Pouliot, Taylor Hall and Teddy Purcell scored for the Oilers, who will miss the playoffs for the ninth straight season. Ben Scrivens made 17 saves.

Pouliot, who went to the Cup final last season with the New York Rangers, says it's been a tough year with his new team.

''Last year was a very long, very fun year. This year is a totally different story,'' said Pouliot, who also had two assists. ''Hopefully next year will be different. (Next year) can be totally opposite, we'll see.''

The Oilers opened the scoring at 9:45 of the first period when Linden Vey turned over the puck in his zone to Derek Roy, who found a wide-open Yakupov.

Just 11 seconds later, Eberle took a pass from Pouliot in the slot and wristed in his 24th of the year to double the lead.

Vancouver pulled to 2-1 with just over 6 minutes left in the first. In a quick tic-tac-toe passing play, Henrik Sedin dished to Edler, who found Daniel Sedin alone and the Swede scored to hit the 20-goal mark.

Bieksa tied it up early in the second with a wraparound goal, but Edmonton restored its lead when Hall buried Pouliot's no-look pass at 3:44.

Miller showed his rust when Pouliot fired in a wrist shot with 7:47 remaining in the second. However, Vancouver came right back to pull to 4-3 as Baertschi went five-hole on Scrivens at 8:01 for his first with the Canucks.

With 30 seconds left in the second, the Oilers went up two again after a bad Canucks line change and a resulting 3-on-1. Purcell eventually banged in the puck after Miller made the initial stop.

It was back to a one-goal game when Hansen put in Bo Horvat's wraparound attempt 6 minutes into the third.

Baertschi tied it 5-5 midway through the period, streaking in alone before beating Scrivens again.

NOTES: Vancouver celebrated former Canuck and fan favorite Gino Odjick before the game. Odjick played for Vancouver for parts of eight seasons and participated in 154 fights in his NHL career.