ANAHEIM, Calif. — ANAHEIM, Calif. (CP) - Ales Hemsky shook off a brutal hit to score the winning goal as the Edmonton Oilers had enough gas in the tank for a 3-1 victory over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks Friday night in the opening game of the NHL Western Conference final.

Hemsky was flattened by Ducks defenceman Francois Beauchemin with a thunderous second-period hit that brought a cheer from the sellout crowd of 17,174. But Hemsky evened the slate before the period ended, scoring a power-play goal that put the Oilers ahead to stay.

"He's a tough kid," said Oilers coach Craig MacTavish. "He takes a lot of banging. He was looking for his pound of flesh after that. That was a pretty violent hit that he took but it didn't dissuade him too much."

Todd Harvey, into an empty net, and Michael Peca, with a short-handed goal, also scored for the Oilers, who won their fifth consecutive game of the playoffs. Goaltender Dwayne Roloson made a heads-up play on Peca's goal to earn his first ever playoff point.

Andy McDonald, on the power-play, scored for the Ducks, who saw a six-game win streak snapped.

Hemsky, playing in his third season with the Oilers, looked like a baseball player trying to drive a shot up the middle on his goal that broke a 1-1 tie.

Ryan Smyth blasted a shot from the point that hit the cross bar behind Ducks goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. Hemsky cruised by the side of the net and whacked the puck out of the air behind Bryzgalov.

At first the Ducks thought Oiler centre Jarret Stoll had bumped Bryzgalov but replays showed he didn't touch the goaltender.

Oiler centre Shawn Horcoff said the hit seemed to light Hemsky's fuse.

"We've seen that a few times this year, he takes a big hit and comes back and almost plays better," said Horcoff. "It just shows the fight he's got."

Anaheim's Teemu Selanne said the Ducks will have to play better Sunday in the second game of the best-of-seven series (CBC, 9 p.m. ET).

"I can't say those guys were better than us," said Selanne. "If we keep pushing we will be better Sunday and go from there. We can do so much better in so many areas."

Roloson and Peca looked like a quarterback throwing a long bomb to a receiver on the Oilers first goal, which came with Edmonton's Chris Pronger in the penalty box.

The goalie picked up the puck at his crease then flipped a high backhand down the ice. Peca waited for it to land behind the Duck defence, then skated in alone. He deked Bryzgalov and beat him with a low shot.

"It's something I used to do in college all the time," said Roloson, who the Oilers picked up from Minnesota at the trade deadline. "I played with Peca in Buffalo. He knew I was looking to do that and he got a jump on some of their guys."

The Oilers, who were playing less than 48 hours after eliminating San Jose from the playoffs in six games Wednesday night, were outshot 14-5 by the Ducks in the third period. That forced Roloson to make several big saves.

Horcoff denied fatigue was a factor.

"We've played this way the whole year, every second night," he said. "It's really not that big a deal."

The Ducks hadn't played since May 11 after sweeping the Colorado Avalanche in four games.

"A long layoff, it's only natural that affects you a little bit," said defenceman Scott Niedermayer. "Now we just have to get ready for the next game and find ways to be better. I think we can do that."

More than 10,000 Oilers fans were celebrating the win on Whyte Ave. in Edmonton. There were no reported instances of violence after the game, but a lot of high-fiving, horn-honking and flag-waving.