Threat of Injury Concerns Selanne

Duck right wing Teemu Selanne admits to being fearful he might be seriously injured by another player.

“It’s scary,” Selanne said, only days after Dallas’ Mike Modano suffered a concussion, a broken nose and a strained neck after he was shoved into the boards from behind by the Ducks’ Ruslan Salei last Saturday.

“There are going to be accidents. The guys are so strong and there’s so much speed. The guys are so intense and emotional. Every coach tells us we have to play physical and have to finish our checks.”

Selanne used Phoenix center Jeremy Roenick as an example of a hard-hitting player who uses common sense when delivering his checks.

“When Jeremy Roenick hits somebody, he uses so much speed it’s unbelievable,” Selanne said. “Sometimes he jumps a little bit. Those are hard hits and if they happened near the boards. . . .

“He usually hits in the middle of the ice, though. He could kill somebody with that speed if he hit them near the boards.”

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With two of his hard-nosed defensemen suspended, Duck Coach Craig Hartsburg decided it was high time to reunite his top defense pairing from last season.

So, with Salei and Pascal Trepanier sidelined for the second game of their 10- and five-game suspensions, Hartsburg played Kevin Haller and Jason Marshall together for the first time this season.

“It was effective last year, we’ll see if it is again when we go back to it,” Hartsburg said.