Selanne Undoes Tie, 2-1

Think goal scoring and two names immediately jump to mind for the Mighty Ducks.

One is Teemu Selanne, whose goal 45 seconds into overtime rallied the Ducks to a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in front of 16,743 Saturday at Edmonton Coliseum.

The other wasn’t Paul Kariya for a change. Kariya’s four-game goal-scoring streak ended.

Stumped?

Try defenseman Bobby Dollas, whose third-period goal enabled the Ducks to catch the Oilers, 1-1, en route to breaking a three-game losing streak. The Ducks haven’t lost four in a row since their franchise-record eight-game losing streak in October.

“That was huge,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said of the victory. “We were in danger of losing sight of the pack in just a week’s time.”

Just when it looked as if the Ducks might never get the puck past scalding Edmonton goaltender Curtis Joseph, Dollas and defensive partner Dmitri Mironov broke into the zone on a two-on-one.

Joseph moved out to cut off Mironov’s path, but couldn’t recover quickly enough after Mironov’s cross-ice pass to Dollas. Dollas didn’t miss and the Ducks were at last even at the 8:42 mark of the third period.

The Oilers almost pulled out the victory in regulation, but Duck goalie Guy Hebert’s stick save on Jason Arnott with 48 seconds left preserved the tie. Arnott broke in alone against Hebert, but couldn’t get any lift on a backhander.

In overtime, Selanne zoomed off the bench on a line change, received a pass from Steve Rucchin at the blue line and fired a low shot just inside the far post.

“That’s why the defensemen couldn’t see me,” Selanne said of coming off the bench to replace Kariya. “Rucchin gave me an unbelievable pass.”

Selanne’s goal was the only scoring chance in overtime, and he didn’t miss.

“[Edmonton] had a five-game winning streak,” Selanne said. “They are the hottest team in the league right now. This was very important for our confidence.”

Determined to shake up the lineup, Wilson hoped breaking up the productive line of Kariya, Selanne and Rucchin would spread the talent around a bit.

Kariya and Rucchin played with Brian Bellows, who has scored only four goals since Jan. 1. Selanne played with Jari Kurri, whose last goal was Jan. 22, and Roman Oksiuta, who hadn’t played since Jan. 23.

That lasted for two scoreless periods before Wilson reunited Kariya, Selanne and Rucchin.

Although the line changes produced no goals, it couldn’t be termed a failed experiment. The Ducks played with a sense of purpose that had been missing in losses last week to the Colorado Avalanche, New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Oksiuta’s addition to the lineup proved to be a bonus. He had been scratched in all but five the past 33 games, suffering from a groin injury and the perception that he wasn’t a hard worker. Saturday, he was eager to show Wilson he deserved another shot.

“I had a good talk with Ron,” Oksiuta said before the game. “I just want to work hard and do my best for the team. I hate [watching games from] the press box. I want to play all the time.”

He might have scored at least two goals in the first two periods if not for superb saves by Joseph.

“He was unbelievable,” Wilson said of Joseph. “We had a number of two-on-ones and point-blank shots that are usually slam dunks. You start to worry that you’re not going to score.”

The Ducks played sound hockey throughout, giving up only a power-play goal to Edmonton’s Andrei Kovalenko at the 12:25 mark of the first period.

But despite sustained pressure against Joseph, it didn’t seem they could solve him.

“We know how well he’s played recently,” Selanne said. “We said on the bench, ‘Let’s be patient. Let’s get good chances.’ Scoring is amazing. I never have figured out how it’s going to work.”

The Ducks finally cracked Joseph, who had a 1.00 goals-against average during the Oilers’ five-game winning streak, on Dollas’ third goal of the season.

They beat Joseph on Selanne’s team-leading 31st goal.