Selanne Does It His Way, Ducks Win, 3-1

Teemu Selanne’s 500th game certainly can’t be hailed as the most graceful performance of his NHL career. Or his flashiest or most remarkable game in any way, shape or form.

His helmet went flying about as many times as he went skidding across the ice on his backside, which was often Sunday night.

Selanne also scored one goal and assisted on another in the Mighty Ducks’ 3-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers before an announced crowd of 13,555 at the Arrowhead Pond.

Only five players in league history have scored more goals in 500 games than Selanne, who recorded his 321st on Sunday. Wayne Gretzky leads the list with 448 goals in his first 500 games.

However, there was far more to Selanne’s 500th game than mere personal achievements.

“We had to battle and scrape and fight just to get the two points,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said after the Ducks improved to 7-6-2-1, their best record after 15 games in their seven-season history. “But we’ll take it.”

Selanne led the way from start to finish, playing an uncharacteristic lunch-pail style that wouldn’t get him much time on highlight reels.

But it won over his coach and teammates.

“He competed for loose pucks,” Hartsburg said of Selanne, who leads the Ducks with eight goals and 20 points. “It wasn’t just offensive stuff. He played a real hard, solid team game for us.”

It was just what the Ducks needed to shake off another sluggish Sunday performance. They were blanked by Phoenix, 3-0, last Sunday and throttled by Boston, 3-2, two weeks ago.

Against Edmonton, the Ducks also took advantage of a quick goal from their second line--Ted Donato setting up Marty McInnis for his fourth goal of the season 4:49 into the game.

Goalie Guy Hebert was sharp in goal, stopping two second-period breakaways in perhaps his best effort of the season. Hebert had 37 saves in securing his fifth victory.

Edmonton’s only goal came when Alexander Selivanov deposited a rebound behind Hebert on an Oiler power play at the 6:14 mark of the second period.

Matt Cullen scored on the Ducks’ only shot on goal in the third period, giving them a 3-1 lead that held up in the game’s frantic final moments.

“We didn’t play our best,” Selanne said. “The guys are happy we won. But there was no celebration in [the dressing room]. No loud music. No nothing. We’re over .500 right now, but it’s time to take the next step. We can’t just float around .500. We’ve got to try to reach a new level.”

The Ducks didn’t have much time to savor their victory, which gave them a 3-2-1 record on their six-game homestand. They depart today on a four-game trip to play Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Detroit.

Grinding out a victory Sunday was perhaps a sign the Ducks have recommitted themselves to doing the little things necessary to win.

Hartsburg figured the Ducks had forgotten some of the basics, so he held a video session before Friday afternoon’s grueling 90-minute practice.

Selanne noticed his line kept getting singled out for mistakes.

“Our line was doing all the bad things,” Selanne said, referring to last Wednesday’s 3-3 tie against the Philadelphia Flyers. “Sometimes in a game you don’t know what happened because it happened so fast. When you see the videos, you’re embarrassed. We did turnovers. We weren’t playing within the system.”

So, Selanne took it upon himself to lead the Ducks by personally handling some of the less creative tasks Sunday against the Oilers. Selanne’s work did not go unnoticed.

“Teemu was really going hard tonight,” Hebert said. “His helmet was flying off. Teemu, I think like everybody else here, is trying to get into a grove. He’s trying to fit his game into the team concept. It’s hard for guys like Teemu and Paul [Kariya] because they have to play our system and also do what they do [score goals].

“This was a big game for us. We needed a big win, a solid game before we get out on the road again.”