Selanne Might Miss Game

The Ducks are taking a cautious approach to Teemu Selanne’s injury and are likely to keep him out of tonight’s game against Calgary.

“If he’s iffy, I won’t play him,” Coach Ron Wilson said. “He’s got to be pretty close to 100%.”

Selanne strained a muscle in his left side during the Ducks’ victory over Edmonton on Sunday. He received electrical stimulation treatments Monday and has been applying ice every couple of hours.

“It’s better, but we’ll have to see [today],” said Selanne, the NHL’s second-leading scorer. “It’s painful. I can walk and it doesn’t bother me, but if I make a quick move, it hurts right away, almost like somebody put a knife in me.

“I’ll wait and see. If there’s any risk, it’s better to be smart. If it’s not good and I still play, it could get worse and I could be out a longer time.”

Goalie Guy Hebert is expected to play tonight after leaving Sunday’s game because he hyperventilated and was exhausted.

“I feel better today than I thought I was going to feel, and we get another whole day of rest,” Hebert said. “It’s a big game, I certainly want to play, but only if it helps the team. The way I feel right now, I hope to go tomorrow.”

Wilson said he’s “pretty sure” Hebert will play not only against Calgary but Wednesday against Vancouver as well.

The Ducks hope Selanne can be back within a game or two.

“I think this is going to be short term,” Wilson said. “Teemu takes care of himself. We’ll see how fast a healer he is.”

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The NHL’s formal announcement that the Ducks and Vancouver Canucks will open the 1997-98 season with two games in Japan will be made by Commissioner Gary Bettman on Wednesday morning in Vancouver.

Plans have been complete for months, but the league has been slow to make its “major international announcement.”