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 Needing a win to regain control of their playoff fate after Calgary lost earlier in Minnesota, the Canucks couldn't even manage a goal until Alexandre Burrows jammed one in on the power play with 6:57 left in the third.
It was too little, too late as the Canucks lost for the sixth time in seven games to miss the playoffs for the second time in three years.
Marty Reasoner and Jarret Stoll scored in the second period for the Oilers, whose 13-4-1 late-season playoff push ended with a 3-2 loss to Calgary on Tuesday.
Edmonton was also playing without leading scorer Ales Hemsky (knee) and gritty center Kyle Brodziak (broken finger) after both were hurt against the Flames, added to a staggering list of injuries
-- a franchise-record 340 man-games lost coming into the game -- that includes Shawn Horcoff, Sheldon Souray, Raffi Torres and No.1 goaltender Mathieu Garon. And the Oilers hadn't beaten Vancouver in regulation in almost 16 months, going 9-0-3 since.
None of it mattered against a Canucks team that blew a 2-0 lead in a loss to Colorado on Tuesday with defensive collapses, and was undone by an inept power play that went 1-for-7 against the Oilers.
Edmonton didn't manage a shot for the first 15 minutes, but only because they fired wide on a handful of odd-man rushes. At the other end, the Canucks struggled on three straight power plays, generating little and being turned away by Roloson when they did, including two point-blank shots by Daniel Sedin on a brief 5-on-3.
Reasoner opened the scoring nine minutes into the second period, reaching over top of fallen goalie Roberto Luongo to tap in a loose puck in the crease.
Vancouver had its best chance to get back into the game after Mathieu Roy, a defenseman playing forward because of all the Oilers injuries, was given a five-minute major penalty for hammering Mike Weaver face-first into the boards.
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But the Canucks failed to put any of their six shots behind Roloson, who only needed a couple of tough stops before Sedin rang one off his mask as the penalty expired. That play drew another penalty, but the Canucks didn't manage a shot on the ensuing man advantage, which ended with Trevor Linden's slashing penalty.
The Oilers made quick work of that power play. Stoll, who left earlier in the period after a shot from teammate Steve Staois hit him in the face, returned to one-time a cross-ice pass through Luongo with 1:30 left in the second period.
Burrows finally ended the power-play drought after Ryan Kesler jammed a puck out from under Roloson's blocker in a scramble and it squirted into the crease.
Luongo, making his 30th straight start, finished with 20 saves.
Notes: Canucks LW Matt Pettinger played through the flu, leaving Jannik Hansen in the press box after being called up from the AHL on an emergency basis earlier in the day. ... Oilers LW Geoff Sanderson played for the first time since Mar. 4. ... With a win, the Canucks would have faced the Flames in both team's season finale on Saturday with a playoff spot on the line.
[Associated Press]
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