Ducks Back in Playoffs

Free-flowing champagne? You must be kidding. A wild postgame celebration? No way. Back-slapping and handshakes? Well, maybe there were a few high-fives.

The Mighty Ducks clinched a Stanley Cup playoff berth after an efficient 4-1 thrashing Friday of the New York Rangers before a sellout crowd of 18,200 at Madison Square Garden.

But you would have hardly guessed it in the relative calm of the Duck dressing room. Fact is, there were at least two good reasons for the Ducks’ subdued reaction to qualifying for the postseason for the second time in their six-season existence.

First, there was the humility factor. It was only Wednesday that they were thumped, 7-1, by the New Jersey Devils in the first game of this five-game trip.

Second, there was a sense that the Ducks hope to accomplish bigger and better things once they get to the playoffs.

So, no, the Ducks were not in a mood to celebrate much Friday. Simply putting together a steady, 60-minute effort in the wake of Wednesday’s loss to the Devils was the Ducks’ top priority.

Winning was almost secondary.

Clinching a playoff berth? Well, that was expected from the first day of training camp in September.

“I think everybody in this dressing room knew we were going to make the playoffs,” said right wing Teemu Selanne, who ignited the Duck rout with his NHL-leading 44th and 45th goals. “[Clinching] is a good feeling, but we still have a lot of games left.”

There are only eight regular-season games remaining, however.

Eight games in which to secure fifth place in the Western Conference standings and a first-round showdown with the fourth-place Phoenix Coyotes, a repeat of the series won by the Ducks in seven games in 1997.

And eight games to help Selanne win the league’s goal-scoring title and perhaps reach the 50-goal milestone for the third straight season.

“These last eight games are so important because we’ve got to keep building our momentum,” said defenseman Kevin Haller, who helped hold the Rangers to a meager 13 shots on goal. “Hopefully, we have a couple of good hard months of hockey left to play.”

If the Ducks skate the way they did Friday, their speed could prove to be difficult to handle for postseason opponents. The Rangers certainly had no luck slowing the Ducks, particularly Selanne and left wing Paul Kariya.

In addition to his goals in the first and second periods, Selanne assisted on Kariya’s 35th goal. Kariya also had an assist. Travis Green scored his 13th of the season, converting on a three-on-one break after a Ranger turnover.

Goalie Guy Hebert stopped all but Kevin Stevens’ long slap shot midway through the first period to earn his franchise-record 30th victory this season. The 13 shots Hebert faced were the fewest taken against a Duck goalie in the franchise’s history.

Hebert’s performance was simply a footnote to Friday’s victory, however. The blazing speed of Selanne and Kariya enabled the Ducks to rebound from Wednesday’s defeat.

New York Coach John Muckler paired Brian Leetch and Mathieu Schneider, his top two defensemen, for one of the few times this season in an attempt to halt Selanne and Kariya.

It didn’t work.

Selanne swiped the puck from Leetch in the neutral zone, raced ahead of the defense and whipped a slap shot past New York goaltender Mike Richter only 2:28 into the game.

Selanne gave the Ducks a 3-1 lead at 10:09 of the second period, tapping a cross-ice pass from Kariya past Richter for a power-play goal. Selanne then set up Kariya for a one-timer from the high slot that beat Richter for a 4-1 Duck lead at 16:41 of the second.

“They’re great,” Muckler said of Selanne and Kariya. “I haven’t seen two guys skate that hard in a long time. You watch them play and you would swear to God they could play the whole 60 minutes.

“They’re worth the price of admission.”

LINDROS OUT: Collapsed lung sidelines Flyers’ Eric Lindros for at least the rest of the regular season. Page 4