Ducks begin final stretch at home

FEBRUARY 18, 2008 -- ANAHEIM -- The Ducks finally came home after a long road trip that Teemu Selanne described as feeling like “two months” by the end of two weeks. The Ducks then were set to play 14 of their final 21 games at home before the regular season ends.

SELANNE – FACE OF THE FRANCHISE

Selanne earned his 670th point as a Duck against the Calgary Flames. He had been tied for most points with his good friend, Paul Kariya. Kariya earned 669 points in 606 games. Selanne earned 670 in 563 games. “It’s not a big deal,” said Selanne after the game. “I’m not a big stat guy. The numbers don’t really mean much right now. Someday, when I look back on what I achieved here, then it’s going to be more special.” For Selanne, it was more important that the Ducks won the game. Coach Randy Carlyle stated, “There’s a lot that has been written and said about it and those things are things you should be proud of.” Selanne is by far the most popular player ever on the Ducks. Scott Niedermayer summed it up well, “People love him. He’s obviously an exciting player to watch. A great guy, a fun guy. He’s got a big smile on his face all the time. It’s great to have him around. For the fans, for us players, we love it.” While records are meant to be broken, in this day and age, players do not stay with the same team for years and years. Like his 76 rookie goals record from 1992-1993 that is still unbroken, this record will likely stand for a while.

GAMES

The Ducks played against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday. The Ducks had not won at the Pepsi Center in their previous six attempts, but pulled off a 2-1 win, adding precious points to their standings. Marek Svatos scored early in the first period for the Avs, but Teemu Selanne tied things up on a 5 on 3 power play early in the second period.

It was his first goal of the season. “Every time I get a power play, my eyes light up,” Selanne commented. The game remained tied until late in the third when Sami Pahlsson got to a rebound and chipped in the puck behind Jose Theodore. “I didn’t see the puck at first. There were three or four guys in front,” said Pahlsson. “I just tried to get in there and hoped to get it on my stick, and that’s what happened.” In spite of a flat first period, Coach Randy Carlyle was pleased. “The most encouraging part is we’ve had a real complete team effort.” After the game, the Ducks finally flew home to California after two and half weeks on the road.

On Friday the Ducks met up with division rivals, the Dallas Stars, for the sixth time this season. The Ducks had only won once in the previous five meetings and they didn’t change that trend. As in games past with the Stars, the Ducks lost the specialty teams battle, primarily due to too many penalties. Jean-Sebastien Giguere said, “We let our emotions get the best of us.” The Ducks allowed three power play goals, two of them coming with a two-man advantage. Stephane Robidas got two, Mike Ribiero one. Steve Ott had the empty net goal at the end. Chris Kunitz scored twice for the Ducks in the 4-2 loss. Kunitz stated, “They played their system better than we did. We didn’t spend a lot of time in their zone. Their goaltender put the puck in good places, and we didn’t get very good dumps. But the biggest thing, obviously, was the penalties. You have to be a lot more disciplined than that.” “This is not the way we wanted to start our homestand. That’s for sure,” observed Chris Pronger.

On Sunday the Ducks hosted the Calgary Flames and continued their home winning streak against the team. In the 4-2 victory, the Ducks got all their scoring in the second period from Ryan Getzlaf, who had not scored in 11 games, Ryan Carter, Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger. Niedermayer and Pronger scored on the power play, including a 5 on 3 that had just expired as the puck went into the net. Carlyle said, “We weren’t happy with our first period. It wasn’t like we were getting blown out or anything, but we were turning the puck over. We came back in, regrouped and got ourselves straightened out.” Flames coach, Mike Keenan, described it as “we really got undressed in the second. They came at us very hard and took advantage of their power plays. They score with the first shift. That first goal they scored really ignited their intensity.” Daymond Langkow scored on the power play for Calgary in the first period and Wayne Primeau scored in the third period. Giguere stopped 23 of 25 shots. Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 22 of 26 shots through the first two periods. Curtis Joseph came into net in the third period and stopped all 10 shots. Selanne’s record 670th franchise point came as an assist on Carter’s goal and was a beautiful pass.

INJURY UPDATE

Doug Weight was put on the IR for a strained left pectoral muscle. An MRI revealed no tear in the muscle, so rest and rehabbing exercises were the prescription. He is expected to be out at least a week. The original injury came on January 13 during the San Jose game. He felt that the time off during the All Star break would be sufficient for healing, but it was not. The injury was worse and aggravated during the beginning of the road trip. “The first shift in Jersey, I did something, and couldn’t see straight the rest of the game. I just think it was time, time to get healthy. It was probably my own stupidity. I should have addressed this a while ago.”

Travis Moen returned to the line up against Colorado after missing four games due to a really bad case of the flu.

ROSTER MOVES

There were no roster moves this week with the exception of putting Doug Weight on IR. Brandon Bochenski remains a healthy scratch, and coach Randy Carlyle has said he’s been outplayed by others on the team at this point.

SPECIALTY TEAMS

The Ducks continued to score on the power play this week, so the stats improved marginally to 16.5%. That puts them at 23rd overall in the league. An increase as small as 1% in the stats would bump them up to 17th.

The penalty kill decreased this week to 81.5%, dropping to 17th overall. The Ducks gave the Stars two 5 on 3 opportunities and gave up two other power play goals this week as well. The Ducks have been pretty consistent with their penalty kill, but the numbers could use improvement.

THE STANDINGS

The Ducks have 73 points with a 33-23-7 record. They are 2nd in the Pacific Division, six points behind division leading Dallas and three points ahead of the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks still have five games in hand on the Ducks. The Ducks are 4th overall in the Western Conference. Even though there are eight points between 4th and 9th, the Ducks have played the most games thus far and the other teams can easily make up points in those “extra” games.

Detroit, who had a sizeable lead over everyone in the NHL, has had a six game losing streak. Their large point gap has quickly diminished and Dallas is within eight points of the Red Wings. Things can change very quickly and all points are important, especially when it comes to playoff positioning. Home ice can make the difference in a playoff series. The Ducks need to remember that and finish strong in their final 19 games of the season.

THE WEEK AHEAD

The Ducks will entertain and educate 16,000 school kids on Tuesday in their seventh annual First Flight Field Trip. The Ducks will then have a rematch with the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. They host the St. Louis Blues on Friday, which will be Andy McDonald’s first return to the Honda Center since being traded in December. They finish off the week against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.

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2008 Western Hockey Network