The Oilers will miss the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season after losing 3-1 to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night.

Taylor Hall scored for the Oilers (17-20-7), who have lost seven of their last eight games and were officially eliminated from the playoffs for yet another season. The string of futility stretches back to their loss in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final against the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.

“To have another season where we’re out of the playoffs, another season where we’re playing meaningless games at the end of the year, is very frustrating,” Hall said. “It’s something we’re not proud of.”

Oilers captain Shawn Horcoff, who has been with the team for the entire seven years, said it hasn’t been an easy process.

“It’s tough, it’s been extremely tough on me,” he said. “We made some steps and at least this year we got some meaningful games in, gave ourselves a chance to get in, but it fell off as of late.

“I think we’re moving in the right direction. It’s just a little slower than we’d like.”

It was a badly-needed victory for the Ducks (28-11-6), who got goals from Cam Fowler, Kyle Palmieri and Corey Perry to help the team snap a four-game losing skid and move closer to clinching the Pacific Division crown.

“It was a step closer to where we want to be,” said Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf. “There are still mistakes that we need to eliminate going into the playoffs, but this was a much-needed win tonight and one that I felt we deserved. It’s all about playing the right way going into the playoffs. This was a step in the right direction.”

The Ducks can clinch the division with another win over the Oilers in the rematch in Edmonton on Monday.

“It’s great to have a win again after what has been happening for the last little while,” said Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller, who stopped 27 shots. “We knew that we needed to play better, but sometimes it is not that easy. Tonight I think that everybody worked a little harder and that made the difference.”

Edmonton had a quick start, scoring exactly one minute in when Hall notched his 15th of the season as he came in off the boards to beat Ducks starter Jonas Hiller between the legs with a wrist shot from the right face-off dot.

The Ducks evened it up with just 1.1 seconds remaining in the period as Oilers center Jerred Smithson broke his stick on the faceoff and Fowler was able to pick up a rebound and bank in his first of the year off goalie Devan Dubnyk’s pads.

Anaheim took a 2-1 lead with just under a minute to play in the second period when Palmieri tried to get a pass through to Teemu Selanne on a 2-on-1, but the pass was blocked by a diving Ladislav Smid. However, Palmieri was able to dig the puck out from under Smid and deposit his 10th of the year behind Dubnyk.

The Ducks went up 3-1 midway through the third when Ryan Getzlaf made a great move to walk around Smid and then sent a backhand pass in front for Perry, who had an easy tap-in for the goal.

The Ducks hit the post twice with Dubnyk pulled for the final two minutes.

Game notes

It was the second of three meetings between the two teams this season. Anaheim came in as the winners of their last nine in Edmonton and 12 of the last 14 meetings overall. … The Oilers announced Sunday that 2011 first overall draft pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is out for the remainder of the season as he likely requires shoulder surgery. … Edmonton Fs Ales Hemsky (foot), Eric Belanger (groin) and Lennart Petrell (leg) are also probably done for the year. … Anaheim was missing Luca Sbisa (upper body) and D Sheldon Souray (lower body).

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None of these averages includes club, premium or suite tickets.

After a four-month lockout, the NHL began play in January and season-ticket prices went up 5.7 percent, according to the recently released Team Marketing Report Fan Cost Index. The average season ticket for non-premium seats is $61.01. As usual, ticket prices were set well before the season.

The NBA’s average ticket went up 3.5 percent to $50.99 and the NFL’s went up 2.5 percent to $78.38. The average MLB ticket for the 2012 season was even at $26.98.

In the previous season, the NHL raised prices by 4.8 percent, while the NBA (1.7 percent), NFL (1.2 percent) and MLB (1.2 percent for 2011 season) had smaller increases.

Increased ticket prices, prior knowledge of a looming lockout and theoretical bad feelings of fans haven’t hurt NHL ticket sales this season. Through games of Feb. 12, the NHL had an average attendance of 17,652, a 1.1 percent increase from last season’s average of 17,455. Last season, the NHL had a 1.8 percent increase in attendance with 15 teams drawing average crowds with 100 percent or higher of capacity.

Team Marketing Report arranges its study through Fan Cost Index prices. The Fan Cost Index is the price to take a family of four to a game, including tickets, drinks, hot dogs, parking and the like. The NHL average this season is $354.82, a 7.9 percent increase from last season’s survey.

As usual, Canadian teams rule the top of the list. The Toronto Maple Leafs have the most expensive average ticket at $124.69 (converted to U.S. dollars), followed by the Winnipeg Jets at $97.84, Vancouver Canucks at $87.38, Edmonton Oilers at $79.27 and Montreal Canadiens at $78.56. according to TMR research.

The Washington Capitals ($79.25), New York Rangers ($72.04) and Philadelphia Flyers ($71.59) are the top American terms in terms of average ticket price. Nineteen teams raised prices by more than one percent, while only three reported decreases.

The Buffalo Sabres reported the largest percentage increase at 26.7 percent, which brings their average ticket to $46.15, the seventh-cheapest ticket.

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While New England was in the process of defeating the Houston Texans on Sunday to set up an AFC Championship Game rematch with Baltimore, Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo ripped the Patriots on Twitter, particularly criticizing their no-huddle offense.

“New England does some suspect stuff on offense. Can’t really respect it. Comparable to a cheap shot b4 a fight,” Ayanbadejo tweeted.

Ayanbadejo will get an opportunity to see New England’s offense in person next Sunday when the Ravens visit the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game for the second consecutive season. New England won last year’s meeting, 23-20, thanks to a missed field goal by Baltimore’s Billy Cundiff as time expired.

The Patriots gained 457 yards of total offense in Sunday’s 41-28 victory over the Texans, as Tom Brady passed for 344 yards while orchestrating a hurry-up offense that confounded Houston throughout the contest.

But Ayanbadejo was unimpressed, referring to the Patriots’ approach as “a gimmick.”

“Are you watching the game pats vs texans?” Ayanbadejo tweeted. “If so you see the hurry snap offense catch em b4 they set up. It’s a gimmick.”

He later tweeted: “Their offense is good enough to be successful with out that.”

Ayanbadejo proceeded to make a critical reference to the Spygate scandal and Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s decision to cut wide receiver Tiquan Underwood one day before Super Bowl XLVI.

SN: AFC Championship Game

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“You know the same organization that did spygate and cut a guy the day b4 the Super Bowl,” he tweeted.

Ayanbadejo also referred to the Patriots’ 2007 season, when they completed the only 16-0 regular season in NFL history but lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

“18-1,” he tweeted.

The Ravens rallied past the Patriots for a 31-30 victory in Week 3 this season. Ayanbadejo, who did not record a tackle in that contest, posted several tweets stating that he “Can’t Wait!” for the latest rematch between the rivals.

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A little later he was back in the same seat wearing a wide grin as teammates congratulated him on a record-setting performance.

Brady shook off a rare turnover to throw for a team-record 517 yards and four touchdowns, including a 99-yarder to Wes Welker, and the New England Patriots started with a victory for the eighth consecutive season Monday night by beating the Miami Dolphins 38-24.

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Defensive end Jared Odrick picked off a deflected pass to set up a Miami touchdown and end Brady’s NFL-record streak of 358 passes without an interception.

Otherwise Brady and the reigning AFC East champions picked up where they left off last season, when he threw for 36 TDs and his team led the league in scoring.

New England totaled 622 yards, the most in franchise history and the most allowed by Miami. Brady’s performance overshadowed Miami’s Chad Henne, who threw for a career-high 416 yards.

The 906 net yards passing by both teams was an NFL record.

“They made some plays on us,” Brady said. “We made a few more than them.”

Brady, who went 32 for 48, became the 11th quarterback to throw for at least 500 yards. Norm Van Brocklin set the record of 554 yards in 1951.

“We’re pleased to have him on our side,” teammate Danny Woodhead said with a smile.

The capper came with 5:44 left and the Patriots leading 31-17. After they stopped Miami on downs at the 1-foot line, Brady lined up in the shotgun on first down and threw from his end zone to Welker, who had slipped behind Benny Sapp near the 30-yard line.

“When I saw the coverage as we lined up, I knew there was a strong possibility I could be getting the ball,” Welker said. “I just wanted to make the most of the opportunity.”

He did, catching the pass in stride and sprinting untouched for the score to complete the longest play in Patriots history.

“I only threw it 25 yards. Wes did all the work,” Brady said. “When I saw him break away, that was awesome. Coach never lets us run that route in practice.”

Brady also threw touchdown passes on consecutive plays. He hit Aaron Hernandez for a 31-yard score, and when a replay review determined the receiver was down at the 1, Brady threw to him again for a TD on the next play.

His other scoring passes covered 10 yards to Rob Gronkowski and 2 yards to Welker.

“Some of their scores ended up looking like it was kind of easy,” Miami coach Tony Sparano said.

Said Brady: “I wouldn’t say it was easy at all.”

He was sacked only once, and good protection gave his receivers plenty of time to work their way open.

Newcomer Chad Ochocinco had only one catch for 14 yards. But Welker made eight receptions for 160 yards, and tight ends Hernandez and Gronkowski combined for 189 yards on 13 catches.

“It wasn’t a one-man band out there,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “We had a lot of contributions.”

The Dolphins’ defense returned virtually intact from last season and was expected to be the team’s strength, but Brady riddled them from the start.

He completed his first eight passes for 127 yards on the Patriots’ first two possessions, and both ended with TDs.

Brady’s first interception since Oct. 17 came early in the third quarter, when he tried to hit Julian Edelman in the flat. Sapp deflected the ball to the 304-pound Odrick, who rumbled 40 yards to the 9. Two plays later, Henne hit Brian Hartline with a 10-yard touchdown pass to make the score 14-all.

Brady was so rattled it took him 10 plays to put the Pats ahead to stay. They drove 73 yards and scored on his 2-yard pass to Welker.

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Miami’s problems with Brady were nothing new. He and the Pats beat the Dolphins twice last year while outscoring them 79-21. Losing at home was nothing different for the Dolphins, either, who have dropped 10 of their past 11 home games.

There was one change for the Dolphins. They promised a more aggressive, exciting offense under new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and showed it from the start, scoring on a season-opening drive for the first time since 2000.

They lined up 355-pound nose tackle Paul Soliai in their goal-line offense, did damage with quarterback keepers by Henne and gave newcomer Reggie Bush 20 touches. Brandon Marshall gained 139 yards on seven catches, but he and Miami couldn’t keep up with Brady.

“Not the defensive performance we were hoping for,” Sparano said. “That’s an understatement.”

Game notes
Patriots C Dan Koppen rode off in a cart late in the first half with a left leg injury. He was on crutches after the game. … Dolphins DE Tony McDaniel missed most of the second half with a hand injury. … Brady’s previous career high in passing yardage was 410 against Kansas City in 2002. … A statue of founding Dolphins owner Joe Robbie was rededicated before the game. The statue had been in a storage area during stadium renovations. … Celebrities in attendance included Dwyane Wade, Will Smith and Pitbull.

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