Anaheim Saves Its Best for Last in a 3-2 Victory

Teemu Selanne breathed third-period life into the Bad News Ducks Wednesday night, slicing toward the Florida Panther net from the left wing and scoring his first goal since Nov. 22.

Petr Tenkrat took care of the rest.

Tenkrat, a rookie winger from the Czech Republic, set up German Titov’s tying goal 1:07 after Selanne scored, then produced a spectacular winner 4:01 into overtime as the Ducks rallied for a 3-2 victory before a die-hards-only crowd of 11,396 at the Arrowhead Pond.

“Petr has been an unbelievable player for us,” Selanne said after the Ducks’ ended a 0-4-1-1 winless streak without captain Paul Kariya, who has a broken right foot.

“He’s been a big bonus for us. He’s got all the tools. He’s fast. He’s strong. His shot is like a rocket.”

Tenkrat showed all the skills Selanne mentioned in one brilliant tour around the ice as the final seconds of the five-minute overtime ticked past.

Cutting to the net with a minute left, Tenkrat fired a low shot that Florida goalie Trevor Kidd easily handled. Kidd carelessly tossed the puck behind his net and around the boards to the left wing.

Tenkrat chased after the puck, beating the Panthers to it. Circling to the blue line, Tenkrat then fended off Florida defenseman Anders Eriksson before speeding down the right wing.

No one picked up Tenkrat and he unleashed a wicked shot from the right faceoff circle that sailed over Kidd’s left shoulder and into the top of the net.

“I was surprised nobody went after the puck, so I skated around and shot it again,” Tenkrat said through defenseman Pavel Trnka, his countryman, who acted as postgame interpreter. “I was trying to put it top shelf. I didn’t pick out an exact spot, but it was on the short side.”

It wasn’t the first time Tenkrat has provided late-game heroics for the Ducks. He scored the tying goal in the third period of a 2-1 overtime loss Dec. 22 against the Detroit Red Wings. He also had a tying, third-period goal in a 2-2 draw Dec. 28 against the Nashville Predators. An apparent tying goal in the third period of a 3-2 loss Saturday against the Minnesota Wild was washed out by referee Terry Gregson’s quick whistle.

In his first 10 NHL games, Tenkrat has four goals and eight points. By way of contrast, a TV graphic Wednesday indicated that Kariya had seven points in his first nine NHL games.

“When I’m out there, I’m always trying to score goals,” Tenkrat said when asked about his third-period scoring.

“He’s a player who wants to be in those situations,” Coach Guy Charron said. “He loves to be a hero. He’s the kind of player who can be a game-breaker. We needed him tonight.”

The Ducks looked lost at times while playing without Kariya, who was injured while blocking a shot in the Ducks’ Dec. 17 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Ducks also were without center Steve Rucchin, who continues to suffer from dizziness stemming from a broken nose and cheekbone suffered Nov. 15. Right wing Mike Leclerc also missed his second game because of a strained right knee.

Florida, which has a league-low seven victories, took a 2-0 lead on second-period goals by Rob Niedermayer and Pavel Bure and it seemed the Ducks were finished. The Ducks had been outshot, 17-11, and had little spark.

“Eleven shots weren’t the standard we wanted,” Charron said. “Everyone came together in the third period and gave us the performances we were looking for.”

With Florida captain Scott Mellanby in the penalty box for holding Selanne at 11:39, the Ducks finally got going. Selanne sneaked toward Kidd’s net and whistled a point-blank shot into the net for his first goal in 15 games at 13:04.

Titov collected Tenkrat’s blind centering pass and sent a missile past Kidd from the slot for a 2-all tie at 14:11. It was only Titov’s sixth goal this season.