Lemieux Pointless, but So Are Ducks

Teemu Selanne seemed frozen to a bench in the Mighty Duck dressing room Monday. His teammates showered, dressed and spoke in hushed tones after a 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins extended their winless streak to 0-4-1.

Selanne sat alone. Motionless. Eyes down, wearing only a towel, he had the look of a guilty man.

For two periods at Mellon Arena, Selanne--not Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux or Jaromir Jagr--was the best player on the ice. Twice he set up Tony Hrkac for pretty goals from point-blank range.

Although the Penguins had rallied from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1, the Ducks swarmed Jean-Sebastien Aubin’s net in search of another go-ahead goal in the final minute of the second period. The Ducks were well on their way to blanking Lemieux for the first time in the nine games since he ended his 3 1/2-year retirement, playing an energetic and persistent game.

At last the Penguins cleared the puck, taking the pressure off their suddenly beleaguered goaltender. Then Selanne did the unthinkable, tangling with Pittsburgh’s Martin Straka far from the puck. Referee Kelly Sutherland blew his whistle as play went the other way, nabbing Selanne for holding Straka.

It was a debatable call at best. Selanne didn’t argue. He threw his stick to the ice in anger and earned an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty that gave the Penguins four minutes with the man advantage.

The Penguins failed to click during the first two-minute minor, but did so on the second. Alexei Kovalev blasted a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle past Guy Hebert at 1:58 of the final period for the deciding goal. It was Pittsburgh’s only shot on goal in four power-play chances.

“I feel sorry for our team,” Selanne said after the Ducks fell to 1-8-2-1 without captain Paul Kariya, sidelined since suffering a broken right foot Dec. 17. “It seems to me right now that everything is against us. Of course, we have to stay positive, but I’m sick and tired of saying the same things and listening to the same things.”

Selanne’s fit of temper was a new wrinkle in what has been an all-too-predictable nose dive with Kariya, left wing Mike Leclerc (injured right knee) and center Steve Rucchin (post-concussion syndrome) out of the lineup.

Selanne’s brain cramp also wrecked what had been an inspired effort by the Ducks, who were blanked by matching 4-0 scores Friday against the Buffalo Sabres and Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes. He set up Hrkac’s 100th NHL goal with a nifty pass from behind the Penguin net 7:43 into the game. He also fired a low shot that Aubin kicked directly onto Hrkac’s stick late in the second period. Hrkac merely tapped the rebound past the helpless goalie at the 14:31 mark.

“I couldn’t believe they called it,” Selanne said of the first penalty. “With [23] seconds to go in the period? I would understand if they had a scoring chance, but we had the puck.”

Asked if he had any regrets, Selanne said, “It’s too late now. It was just a reaction.”

Coach Guy Charron had a different view of the events.

“This is the last player I would expect to take a penalty like that,” Charron said. “You probably would forgive a Jim Cummins or somebody like that, who’s running around out there [trying to ignite his team]. You can dispute the call, but you have to address the refs with respect.

“It’s amazing. We found a way to shoot ourselves in the foot again. We’re going to run out of bullets here pretty soon. We had energy and we played well.”

The Ducks muzzled Lemieux and Jagr, particularly while the Penguins were on the power play. Pittsburgh went into the game eighth in the league with a 18.7% success rate, but couldn’t put a shot on net in its first three chances.

Finally, Jagr whipped a cross-ice pass from the right wing to Kovalev, who skated to the top of the left circle and sent a missile over a diving Dan Bylsma and behind Hebert.

Jagr had two assists, but Lemieux was held without a point for the first time since leaving the owner’s box and returning to the ice Dec. 27. Lemieux and Jagr combined for four shots, or two fewer than Selanne.

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TO SERVE AND PROTECT

The Penguins are trying to find a goon to protect Mario Lemieux. Jim Hodges’ column. D6

CHANGES COULD BE IN STORE

The King coaching staff is pondering a lineup change to shake the team from its recent doldrums. D6

DUCKS LOSE ANOTHER PLAYER

Niclas Havelid left Monday’s loss to Pittsburgh because of a sprained right knee. D7