Kariya and Selanne: a Combination Lock

They are perhaps the best one-two scoring combination in the NHL at the moment, but exactly what do wingers Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne mean to the Ducks’ success?

Consider this:

With Kariya and Selanne in the lineup, the Ducks have a 52-32-14 record dating to the Feb. 7, 1996, trade that brought Selanne to Anaheim from Winnipeg. But the Ducks are only 14-28-8 when either Kariya or Selanne does not play.

What’s more, the Ducks are 19-3-2 when Kariya and Selanne each score a goal and 46-17-8 when each has at least one point. They are 1-3-2 when neither has a point.

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When Kariya picked up an interference penalty at the 9:07 mark of the first period of Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks, it marked his first trip to the penalty box in 1997.

Kariya’s last penalty came in a Dec. 30, 1996 game against the Ottawa Senators.

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The Ducks’ upcoming six-game trip to St. Louis, Chicago, Carolina, Washington, Tampa Bay and Florida notwithstanding, their schedule features less travel after the NHL’s holiday break.

They have only one trip of more than two games the rest of the way. It’s a doozy, though--a seven-game, 11-day trip in March to play New Jersey, Philadelphia, Montreal, Ottawa, Chicago, Detroit and Colorado.

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Defenseman Bobby Dollas didn’t have much time to enjoy his 300th game in a Duck uniform. He received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for checking from behind only 32 seconds into Monday’s 5-1 victory over the Calgary Flames.