Hats off to Selanne and Ducks
by Karen Francis
Hockeytalk.biz

FEBRUARY 26, 2008 -- ANAHEIM -- The Ducks continued to play well this week and are now on a four game winning streak. Teemu Selanne’s return to the Ducks has helped them immensely, especially in offense and on the power play.

The Ducks are 9-1-0 since Selanne's return to the line up on February 5. Selanne now has 6 goals, 11 points in 10 games, including his 20th career hat trick that came against Chicago. Selanne passed Maurice Richard on the all time goals list and is now at #25 with 546 goals. He also reached the 600 career assists mark during the Chicago game as well. By appearing in his 10th game with the Ducks, Selanne easily earned a $1.2 million bonus, which was well earned with his five point contribution. “The last week or so, I’ve felt great. My body is back. It’s fun to skate. Every stride is enjoyable. The last two, three games, I’ve had some really good chances. It was good to see those pucks go in.”

DUCKS EDUCATE 16,000 LOCAL KIDS

The Ducks held their seventh annual First Flight Field Trip on Tuesday. 115 schools from around Southern California with kids in third through sixth grade visited the Honda Center. A 25-page workbook was provided that covered many of the state math standards. The Ducks conducted a light practice then held a skills competition in their own mini-version of an All-Star game. Francois Beauchemin and Chris Pronger tied for the hardest shot at 92 mph. Travis Moen was deemed the fastest skater. Teemu Selanne easily won the accuracy contest hitting four targets in five shots. The Ducks also held a breakaway challenge where style points mattered and Chris Kunitz had the two best combined scores of the day. “It’s always a responsibility as an organization and as a hockey club to reach out to our young fans,” coach Randy Carlyle commented. “It’s an opportunity for some kids to get a morning to come and watch the Ducks practice. It’s not only hockey but education. You can’t lose at these events.”

GAMES

The Ducks defeated the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in a shootout on Wednesday. The first period had three goals by the Ducks waved off. In two of those the puck did not cross the line. In the third, Chris Kunitz was deemed to have deflected the puck with a high stick and a lengthy review did not reverse that decision. The Ducks did get on the scoreboard with a goal from Teemu Selanne on the power play, his second of the year. In the second period it was all Colorado, who got tallies from Jeff Finger and Andrew Brunette. Coach Randy Carlyle said, “We didn’t really generate enough after two periods. We turned the puck over far too many times in the second period and gave up some odd man rushes that gave them an opportunity to get the lead. We decided in the third period that we were going to play the type of hockey we are accustomed to in order to have success. The players should be credited with that. They are the guys that went out and did it.” The guy who did it was Rob Niedermayer, who tied the game with his 5th goal of the season. “Every time we play (Peter Budaj), he seems to play huge against us. He’s an extremely good goalie. That’s why it’s huge to get a fluky goal. I just sort of tipped it and was lucky to get by.” Corey Perry had the lone goal in the shootout to give the Ducks the win and the extra point.

On Friday the Ducks hosted the St. Louis Blues and Andy McDonald was welcomed back to the building after being traded for Doug Weight in December. McDonald received a standing ovation after a brief tribute on the jumbotron. “I certainly was treated well while I was here. To see that kind of reception from the fans is quite an honor.” Once again the Ducks had to come from behind in a pretty dull game that did not liven up until the third period. Ryan Johnson finally broke the scoreless tie early in the third period, but Teemu Selanne tied things up two minutes later. The game remained tied and went to overtime where Sami Pahlsson made it 2-1 with a goal :32 seconds into the extra period. “It was a really great pass. It was almost perfect,” Pahlsson said of Rob Niedermayer’s assist. “It is an extra point. It’s big for us. We got two more points. We need these extra points. One is not good enough.” Carlyle agreed. “”It’s all about wins right now. It’s now. It’s how many.”

On Sunday the Ducks defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 in a lively, high scoring game. Selanne scored 3 goals, two of them on the power play, and two assists. Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and two assists. Chris Kunitz had a goal and three assists. Kent Huskins ended up with the game-winning goal. Patrick Sharp scored two of the Blackhawks goals and Brent Seabrook earned the third goal. Jonas Hiller was in goal, giving Jean-Sebastien Giguere a rare night off. Carlyle was mostly happy with the results. “It’s nice to score six, but we shouldn’t allow three.” Carlyle apparently dangled a carrot in front of his team and told them they could have two days off if they won the game. “That gave Selanne a bit more energy!”

INJURY UPDATE

Doug Weight remains on the IR for a strained left pectoral muscle. Although he is making progress and expects to be practicing with the team by the end of the week, he knows he needs to be cautious returning as it is easy to re-injure the muscle. “I’ve just got be make sure I’m feeling comfortable. I want to play healthy. My muscles are like old laces.”

Ryan Carter broke his wrist in a fluke accident during the Colorado game and was placed on IR. Carter was checked into the boards by Jeff Finger, but Carter’s hand went through the photographer’s hole in the plexiglass and was jammed. Carlyle, who has praised Carter’s work of late said, “He’s a young player that was earning minutes and making a contribution in his first year. It’s a blow to the player, but injuries are part of the game, and teams have to deal with them. We’re no different.” Carter underwent surgery on Friday morning to place pins in the wrist and will be out four to six weeks.

Todd Marchant also suffered a strained shoulder in the Colorado game and was experiencing inflammation and tenderness. Marchant was hopeful. “The day after is always the worst, but it’s not bad. Hopefully it won’t be too long. We’ll just have to kind of wait and see.” He is listed as day to day.

Chris Pronger lost multiple teeth, had a huge gash in lower lip and a jaw contusion after being on the wrong end of Patrick Sharp’s stick during the Chicago game. Sharp was following through on a shot that was the Blackhawk’s second goal and hit Pronger square in the mouth. Pronger immediately went to the locker room and did not return to the game.

ROSTER MOVES

With a shortage of centers, the Ducks called up Andrew Ebbett for the first time this season. Ebbett has 13 goals and 55 points with Portland thus far and was placed on a line with Selanne and Kunitz. Ebbett is +3 in two games and has won 66% of his faceoffs.

SPECIALTY TEAMS

The Ducks continued to score on the power play this week getting 3 power play goals in 18 chances. The stats decreased marginally to 16.4%, but they moved up to 22nd overall in the league. Mathieu Schneider commented after the St. Louis game, “There’s still a lot of room for improvement on our power play. I think that could really make us an elite team.” He’s right.

The penalty kill was perfect this week, with the Ducks killing all 14 penalties, including extended 5 on 3 time against Chicago. They increased this week to 82.4%, moving up to four spots to 13th overall.

THE STANDINGS

The Ducks have 79 points with a 36-23-7 record. They remain 2nd in the Pacific Division. At this point in the year it is difficult to gain any ground in the standings, but the Ducks crept up two points closer from division leading Dallas, now just four points away. The Ducks expanded their lead to five points ahead of the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks have four games in hand on the Ducks, and could still close in on them. The Ducks remain at 4th overall in the Western Conference.

THE WEEK AHEAD

The Ducks next play host to the Calgary Flames on Friday, hoping to improve their 9-2-1 February record.

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2008 Western Hockey Network