Selanne Goal Does Ducks a Lot of Good

Group therapy continued Friday night.

There was a breakthrough, to be sure. When Teemu Selanne scored with 1:40 left in regulation to salvage a 3-3 tie Colorado Avalanche Friday, it did more good than sifting through a stack of ink blots.

It was the second time in as many games that the Ducks have rallied in the third period against a quality team. It left the sellout crowd of 17,174 feeling like they spent their money for more than just a glimpse at the real Stanley Cup, which was on display at the Arrowhead Pond. And, maybe most importantly, it kept the the Ducks from squandering a game they dominated.

All because Selanne found his touch, scoring only is second goal in the last 12 games.

“This is huge,” Selanne said. “This could be a big boost for me and the team, especially for me. It can give me my confidence back and maybe I can now help this team.”

It was like old times. Paul Kariya dug the puck out of the corner, turned and saw Selanne breaking free. Goalie Patrick Roy never had a chance and the Ducks got a point after the overtime.

The Ducks’ Marty McInnis had the best chance in overtime, as he had a step on defenseman Adam Foote. But McInnis couldn’t get a shot off, as Foote appeared to hook him.

“It’s good to see Teemu get rewarded,” Kariya said. “He has played really well the last few weeks, doing a lot of little things that don’t get noticed. It’s good to see him get something.”

It was all part of the healing process that started with a tongue lashing from Kariya on Tuesday after the Ducks had been embarrassed by Buffalo, 5-0, on Monday. His actions in Wednesday night’s 3-1 victory over Dallas--two goals--spoke louder than words.

He had a goal and two assists Friday.

“Our mantra has to be work hard, play hard, stick with the system,” Kariya said. “We played a complete, 60-minute game tonight.”

And still the Ducks needed a late play from Selanne and Kariya.

The Ducks had a 38-15 edge in shots and scored a power-play goal, their third in the last 59 chances. But Roy was brilliant in the third period. He stopped six shots on one power play, including Matt Cullen’s point-blank try on a rebound.

“They probably deserved to win that game,” Roy said.

That the Avalanche, which is 4-0-2 in its last six games, had the game in hand was due mainly to center Peter Forsberg, who brought the Avalanche back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits.

There is little doubt what Forsberg means to the Avalanche. The team struggled through the first 23 games this season, while Forsberg recovered from shoulder surgery.

Colorado is 15-6-3 since he returned with a two-goal, five-point game against Calgary on Nov. 27. Forsberg has 31 points in 23 games, including two points Friday.

Forsberg scraped out a loose puck from a pile of players in front of the net and flipped a shot over goalie Guy Hebert. The power-play goal tied the score, 1-1, at 17:52 of the first period.

Forsberg then found Joe Sakic alone 15 feet in front of the net. Sakic had plenty of time to line a shot, which beat Hebert to the right and tied the score, 2-2, at 8:12 of the second period.

So when Alex Tanguay slipped a pass to Chris Drury on a 2-on-1 late in the second period, Colorado was in a familiar strong position. Drury’s goal at 18:41 made it 3-2 heading into the final period. Even after the tie, the Avalanche is 17-0-2 when leading after two periods.

“We made a couple mistakes and it looked like it might hurt us,” Duck Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “Be we were persistent. Preparation and desperation were there for us.””

Especially Selanne. He had found little room to move through the game. In fact, he had only one shot before his goal.