Duck-Coyote Series Heats Up

The first punch of the Mighty Ducks’ Stanley Cup playoff series against Phoenix has been thrown by former Duck defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky, moments after he learned the Coyotes and Ducks will meet in the first round.

“Good, I want to kick their butts. I hate that team,” said Tverdovsky, part of the blockbuster trade that brought Teemu Selanne to the Ducks last season.

“I don’t think they have a lot of talent,” Tverdovsky told the Arizona Republic. “They have just one great line, and a pretty good goalie. That’s all they’ve got.”

Selanne, who scored 51 goals and 109 points this season, is one-third of the Ducks’ one great line, along with Paul Kariya and Steve Rucchin.

“They are more than just a one-line hockey team,” Phoenix Coach Don Hay said. “If anybody looks past that, they’re not respecting the rest of the players on that team.”

Tverdovsky--one of two former first-round picks the Ducks traded for Selanne--emerged as an All-Star this season. His 55 points rank him among the NHL’s highest scoring defensemen.

“I don’t want to ‘show’ them anything,” Tverdovsky said. “I just want to beat them badly.”

Duck Coach Ron Wilson said it will be important for Tverdovsky and Selanne to control their emotions during the seven-game series, which is expected to begin Wednesday at the Pond.

“What they both have to worry about is being overly pumped up and trying too hard to show the other team they were wrong,” said Wilson, who gave his team Saturday off before resuming practice today. “It’s only been a year. It’s not like they’ve gotten over that thing . . . It’s still in the back of their minds that they’re mad they got traded.

“We’ve got to make sure with Teemu he’s not going to try too hard and get carried away physically.”

Even though the Ducks went 1-3 against Phoenix this season, winning the most recent meeting, 4-2, on Feb. 22, Wilson is pleased with the matchup and ecstatic about the easy travel.

“This couldn’t be better,” he said. “The only way would be if we were playing the Kings.”

Wilson has been told the Ducks will play Phoenix at the Pond on Friday and Sunday, and although the NHL won’t officially announce the schedule until today, the teams are expected to play in Phoenix on April 20 and 22. Then, if necessary, they would return to Anaheim on April 25, play in Phoenix again on April 27, and play a decisive seventh-game at the Pond on April 29.

“This is like, ‘Who’s going to blink first,’ ” Wilson said. “They’ve underachieved, and come back. They found themselves the last month, and we certainly have. Both teams have young star players. Their leader is Keith Tkachuk. We have Paul Kariya.”

Wilson called Tkachuk, who has two consecutive 50-goal seasons, the “ultimate power forward,” while Kariya dominates with finesse.

The teams also have similar goaltending situations. The Coyotes’ Nikolai Khabibulin has started 42 games in a row, and the Ducks’ Guy Hebert started 42 of 43 in one stretch before getting a late-season break to prepare for the playoffs.

“Sometimes it doesn’t even matter how you’re playing when you go into the playoffs,” Wilson said. “The things I think this will hinge on are goaltending--both goalies are very hot--and special teams.

“I personally don’t feel it matters what your season record is against somebody.”

Tkachuk agreed.

“This is a whole different season now,” Tkachuk told the Republic. “It’s a seven-game series and anything can happen. It’s going to be a long, draining dogfight series.”

Coyote defenseman, ex-Duck