Ducks’ Tie With Blues Feels Like Win

Teemu Selanne’s gaffe was understandable.

“It was a good win,” Selanne said.

A good win? The Mighty Ducks’ 1-1 tie with the St. Louis Blues on Saturday?

“Uh, a good point,” Selanne said. “They are such a great team. We really didn’t expect to get anything easy. That’s why we have to be happy with the point.”

Actually, the emotions ranged.

The Ducks were indeed delirious after Fredrik Olausson’s goal at 18:02 of the third period stunned the 20,274 at the Kiel Center. It led to the Ducks moving within three points of San Jose for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.

There also was disappointment from the Ducks, who dominated the overtime, getting seven shots, mainly because of a controversial power play.

And there was anger.

The Ducks were irate after goalie Guy Hebert was slammed into the net by Stephane Richer, who shoved Selanne into him, in the first period. Hebert, who stopped 28 of 29 shots, took another shot and wobbled off the ice with 1:11 left in overtime. This time the culprit was teammate Paul Kariya, who had collided with the Blues’ Al MacInnis.

Meanwhile, the Blues were livid about an overtime penalty that nearly gave the Ducks the game. St. Louis’ Kelly Chase received a misconduct penalty and a gross misconduct penalty after the game for berating the officials.

“Any time you can come in and steal a point from a team like St. Louis, it’s a good thing,” Selanne said. “But this was just one game and we survived.”

Still, no one was quite satisfied.

Selanne was angry in the first period when Richer rammed him into Hebert--the sixth time this season Hebert has taken such a hit. Even before Selanne hit the ice, his gloves were off and he was flailing at Richer.

Both received roughing penalties, and Selanne pointed and barked at Richer from the penalty box.

“Other players have been running into our goalies,” Selanne said. “The puck was away. He didn’t have to push me into the goalie. I was [angry] because of that, and I think I have a reason too.”

The Blues had cause to be angry as well. When Marc Bergevin received a roughing penalty--for nudging Kariya to the ice--the Ducks had a four-on-three advantage for the last 1:44 of overtime. That it was only the second power play of the game really irked the Blues.

They almost lost because of it. A Selanne pass left center Steve Rucchin skating alone toward the net. Goalie Roman Turek made a sprawling pad save on the first shot. Rucchin got the rebound and fired again, only to have Turek make the save while lying on the ice.

“It was funny how the moment changed,” Selanne said. “We got the goal and then they got the penalty. We came into the dressing room feeling like we should have won.”

The Blues had a different reaction, for which Chase received his misconduct penalties.

Of course, Kariya said the Blues should have been called for too many men on the ice in overtime . . . twice.

“They were blatant,” Kariya said. “We had a three on two twice and guys came off the bench.”

There was no way to anticipate such feelings from this game, even after it had begun.

Pavol Demitra’s second-period goal looked to be enough for the Blues, who have the most points in the NHL and have allowed the fewest goals.

When Ladislav Kohn seemed to let the Ducks’ best chance slip away in the second period--he fanned on a puck sitting in the crease with Turek out of position--a Blues’ victory seemed inevitable.

They were, after all, 29-0-1 when leading after two periods, and showed why by limiting the Ducks to three shots in the final 20 minutes--none during a 15-minute stretch.

But one shot was all the Ducks needed.

Matt Cullen won a faceoff, pushing the puck back to Olausson, who fired the puck wide from the blue line. But Kip Miller picked it up behind the net and fed Olausson, who had slipped in alone.

“I didn’t know the puck went in, the place was so quiet,” Olausson said. “Even our guys were quiet. I think [the Blues] were puck watching. Breakdowns happen, even to elite teams. We need to take this point and be happy with it.”