SAN JOSE — The Battle for Sixth? Or was it the Battle for Seventh?

Bragging rights? Or the better odds at a higher draft pick?

The Ducks and the San Jose Sharks took to the ice Tuesday at SAP Center looking to settle matters in the fourth and final meeting of a season that will end for each team on Friday. Neither advanced to the Stanley Cup playoffs, and for the Ducks it will mark a fourth straight early vacation.

In the end, the Ducks delayed the standings skirmish by building a three-goal lead and taking a hard-earned 5-2 victory from the Sharks. The Ducks play the Stars on Friday in Dallas in their season finale. The Sharks have games Thursday at Edmonton and Friday at Seattle.

Josh Mahura’s goal at 10;47 of the third period gave the Ducks a 4-2 lead after the Sharks had narrowed their 3-0 advantage to 3-2 in the closing minutes of the second. Trevor Zegras, Max Comtois and Sonny Milano also scored for the Ducks, and Anthony Stolarz made 31 saves.

Stolarz also assisted on Zach Aston-Reese’s late empty-net goal.

“Absolutely,” Stolarz said when asked if he had tried to shoot the puck into the empty net. “My cross-hairs were a little off and it went a little left. I’ll take the assist. I kind of double-clutched it. The ice wasn’t so great and (the puck) rolled up on me. I actually got good wood on it.”

Stolarz’s attempt from below the goal line, after the Sharks shot the puck behind his net, veered left and didn’t have enough distance to travel the 200-foot length of the ice. Aston-Reese latched onto it in the neutral zone and fired it from near the left wing boards into the vacant net.

The Ducks’ victory wasn’t sufficient to enable them to vault over the Sharks into sixth place. The Ducks (31-36-14) and Sharks (32-26-12) each have 76 points, but San Jose has one game in hand and maintained its edge in the Pacific Division standings over its rivals.

“Obviously, the (overall) results aren’t what we want,” Stolarz said. “But at the end of the day, you look at the majority of the games and we’re playing hard, battling hard against good teams. L.A. and San Jose, we know that these are our rivals. No matter what, we’re competitive guys.

“Even though we’re out of it, we want to try to stick it to them.”

Zegras scored only 4:05 into the game on a perfectly-placed shot from a sharp angle that got caught in the netting at the very top of the goal, giving the Ducks a 1-0 lead. Zegras’ goal was his 23rd of the season, and his 60th point, extending his franchise rookie scoring record.

Troy Terry appeared to have given the Ducks a 2-0 lead at 13;13 of the first period by smacking home a rebound from close range. The play was reviewed and it was determined that Terry directed the puck into the net with a distinct kicking motion and the goal was washed out.

The Ducks would get their 2-0 lead and a 3-0 advantage, too, but they had to wait until the second period to get it done. Comtois scored at 5:26 of the second, moments after the Ducks killed a penalty. Milano then made it 3-0 with a backhanded shot from the high slot at 6:22.

San Jose scored twice late in the second on goals from Brent Burns (power play) and Scott Reedy, generating some momentum at long last and making a game of it. The Ducks played their best overall period in the third, controlling the run of play and outshooting the Sharks by 14-6.

“We scored at opportune times,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “We didn’t start out great but got better as the game went on. We haven’t faulted our team at all with the way we’ve worked since the trade deadline especially. I think our guys have worked hard and stuck together the best they can.”

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