Selanne Is Still Not Ready to Go

Teemu Selanne’s winter break is expected to continue through Tuesday because of the lower abdominal strain he suffered during the Olympics.

He skated briefly during practice Saturday afternoon but did so in a warmup suit rather than in full pads.

Coach Pierre Page said Selanne, the team’s leading scorer with 41 goals and 68 points, probably will be in the stands when the Ducks play St. Louis tonight at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.

“He’s still feeling some pain out there, so he will skate [this morning] with the others who will not play in the game. He probably will be ready by Wednesday,” Page said of the right wing. “Teemu’s still not sure what it was that caused this problem, but he still is not at 100%.”

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Paul Kariya, still recovering from the concussion caused by a Gary Suter cross-check Feb. 1, is staying away from the rink these days.

“The doctors told Paul to get away from it all right now,” Page said. “He doesn’t feel much better now and all the questions each day--’How are you doing?’ and ‘When are you coming back?’--are putting pressure on him.”

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The Ducks watched a short video from the NHL that used game action in the last few days to illustrate exactly what the referees are calling as part of the crackdown on interference.

Despite watching his team give the Oilers 13 power-play chances in the Ducks’ 4-0 victory Friday night in Edmonton, Page remains convinced the league is on the right track.

“The fans have to be patient because it’s like adding four cops to the roads to write more speeding tickets,” he said. “Everyone is complaining about too many cops on the road, but no one is obeying the law.”

TONIGHT

vs. St. Louis

* 5

* Ch. 9

Site--Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.

Radio--KRLA (1110), KCKC (1350).

Records--Ducks 20-29-9, Blues 31-22-8.

Record vs. Blues--1-0-1.

Update--Without Kariya, Selanne and Travis Green, the Ducks will look to create more traffic in front of the opposing net and try for goals off deflections. Mikhail Shtalenkov, who shut out the Oilers on Friday, will start again tonight for the Ducks. Tomas Sandstrom was the hot topic when the teams met Dec. 27. Sandstrom broke a bone in Brett Hull’s left hand with a slash in the first period.