Selanne Sees Advantages of Mixing Up the Lines

Teemu Selanne didn’t mind when Coach Craig Hartsburg played him and Paul Kariya on different lines in the third period of Wednesday’s 1-1 tie against the Phoenix Coyotes.

Selanne scored a goal in Sunday’s 6-3 victory against the Calgary Flames while playing with center Matt Cullen and left wing Mike Leclerc, and they produced the tying goal against the Coyotes.

“Sometimes you need to mix things up, especially when there’s no room to skate,” Selanne said, referring to the Coyotes’ tough defense against the Ducks’ top line.

Phoenix had its hands full trying to stop Kariya and Selanne while they were on different lines.

Selanne was not credited with an assist on defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky’s tying goal, but he helped to make the play happen by taking a hit from Phoenix defenseman Keith Carney. Cullen picked up a loose puck along the right-wing boards and fed a cross-ice pass to Tverdovsky for the goal.

Wednesday was the first game in the last five that Selanne had been held without a point. He has five goals and 10 points in his last nine games.

“Goal scoring is an amazing thing,” Selanne said. “I don’t care how I’m scoring as long as I am scoring.”

Two seasons ago, he led the NHL with 25 power-play goals. Last season, he slumped to only eight. Five of his seven goals this season have been with the man advantage.

“Last year, if we had even a little bit of success on the power play early in the season we would have been in the playoffs for sure,” Selanne said. “You have to have a good power play these days in the NHL.”

The Ducks finished in the middle of the pack last season with a 16.6% success rate on the power play. This season they are 14 for 69 (20.3%) and rank eighth overall after Wednesday’s game.

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Defenseman Ruslan Salei will not join the Ducks for their two-game trip to play Saturday at Nashville and Sunday at Chicago. He was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam on his sore left foot Thursday. . . . Right wing Marty McInnis was to have an MRI exam on his sprained neck. Depending on the results, he could join the team when it leaves today. . . . Defenseman Pavel Trnka, sidelined by a sprained right ankle since Oct. 8, is expected to participate in a full-contact practice next week.