Selanne Sees Pluses in Team’s .500 Start

Right wing Teemu Selanne gave a reporter’s question considerable thought before answering Friday after the Mighty Ducks’ 90-minute workout at their Anaheim practice facility.

“On a scale of one to 10, I’d give us a 7 1/2,” Selanne said when asked for his opinion of the Ducks’ play through 14 games.

The good news for the Ducks is they are 6-6-2-2, the best start in their seven-season history. The bad news for them is they are 6-6-2-2 and probably should have recorded another victory or two.

“I think this is a good situation because we are .500, but I don’t think anybody here is happy about it,” Selanne said. “We’ve had a decent start. We’re on the right track. Every other year, we seem to have had bad starts and had to battle back.”

There is still plenty of room for improvement, according to Selanne and Mighty Duck Coach Craig Hartsburg.

“We can be better and we will,” said Selanne, the Ducks’ leading scorer with seven goals and 19 points.

Said Hartsburg: “I think we’ve had an OK start. We’re holding our heads above water. We want to play a better team game. We have to have a more committed effort from everybody to play a better team game.”

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Center Matt Cullen, who suffered a groin strain in Wednesday’s 3-3 tie against the Philadelphia Flyers, did not practice Friday but hopes to be on the ice today.

“It happened in the first period, when I was racing for a puck,” Cullen said. “I felt it pull. After the game, it was really sore. It’s nice to have a couple of days of rest here and, hopefully, I’ll be OK for [today’s practice].”

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Left wing Mike Leclerc resumed off-ice workouts Friday, a week after having elbow surgery. Leclerc has been cleared to ride a stationary bicycle, but that’s about it for now. He’s expected to start skating again in a few days.

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Sunday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers will be Selanne’s 500th in the NHL. He has 320 goals in 499 games. Only five players in league history have more goals than Selanne upon reaching the 500-game milestone. Wayne Gretzky leads the list with 448 goals in 500 games. . . . The Ducks are 3-0-2 when they score at least one power-play goal. Their first goal Wednesday against Philadelphia came with the man advantage. . . . Backup goalie Dominic Roussel, who had 31 saves Wednesday, is 2-0-1 with a 1.63 goals-against average in four games this season.