SURFACING SHARK

Teemu Selanne showed off his new busted lip Wednesday.

“Ricci gave it to me,” said Selanne, trying gamely but ultimately failing to produce his customary broad smile because of an oversized upper lip. “I guess I should have hit him first.”

The San Jose Sharks apparently had forgotten how to celebrate a victory. It had been a while--six games--since they had won. So forgive them if they overdid it after defeating the Kings, 3-2, in overtime Tuesday night and left their all-star right wing looking as if he had been in a bar brawl.

When Selanne sent a crafty pass between his legs to hard-charging defenseman Jeff Norton in overtime against the Kings and Norton whipped a centering pass to center Mike Ricci and Ricci slammed the puck into the back of the net for the winning goal, hysteria gripped the Sharks.

Ricci accidentally clobbered Selanne in the post-victory scrum. But, at last, there was a reason for Selanne to smile.

Since the Sharks acquired Selanne on March 5 from the Mighty Ducks, there has been little to cheer in San Jose. A day after the trade, Selanne underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and was sidelined for five games. Once he returned, he managed one assist in five games. What’s more, his new team has been in a 4-10-2-2 funk that has jeopardized its playoff chances.

On Wednesday, a day before the first game between the Ducks and the Sharks since the trade, Selanne finally managed to take a moment to reflect on his brief time in San Jose.

“It wasn’t a perfect situation when I first came here,” he said. “I had my knee scoped right away. I wasn’t 100% when I came back. My knee still isn’t 100%, but it’s getting better. I didn’t feel comfortable my first game back. I was playing left wing and had new teammates.”

Selanne still hasn’t adjusted to a number of things in the Bay Area. Home prices are as mind-boggling to him as everyone else, for example. But his wife and three young sons are staying with him in a hotel suite, so “I can start having a normal life again,” he said.

“It wasn’t an easy situation for me,” he added. “Right now, it’s getting better. I know I can do so much more for this team. Right now, every game, it’s getting better and better.”

Selanne recalled a difficult break-in period after the Ducks acquired him on Feb. 7, 1996, from the Winnipeg Jets (now the relocated Phoenix Coyotes). Selanne and Paul Kariya didn’t become one of the NHL’s great combinations in their first few games together. It took months before they clicked.

Certainly, there is no one with the finishing skill of Kariya on the Shark roster, which has been, and will continue to be, a change for Selanne.

San Jose, seventh in the Western Conference, also is a grittier team than the last-place Ducks. The Sharks are devoted to taking care of business in their own end of the rink before venturing forth to explore scoring chances.

“It’s an adjustment,” San Jose Coach Darryl Sutter said. “He has to adjust to our team. It’s a different type of team.”

Sutter figures it probably will take a while longer before Selanne feels at home in San Jose. In the meantime, Sutter is content to soak up Selanne’s bubbly personality while enjoying his flashes of brilliance on the ice.

Selanne had a couple of overtime cracks at defeating the Kings in overtime Monday at Staples Center. But he put a shot on a breakaway off the right goal post midway through the five-minute extra period and steered a backhander wide in the final seconds of a game that ended in a 0-0 tie.

Tuesday, he had several quality chances to score his first goal as a Shark but came up empty again. However, he helped set up two goals, including Ricci’s winner. Perhaps the only thing he did wrong all game was to be the first to congratulate Ricci at game’s end.

“I think he fit in right away,” Sutter said of Selanne, who was the Ducks’ leading scorer with 59 points in 61 games when he was traded. “He’s a real positive guy, a real colorful guy. You can tell he enjoys what he’s doing. He enjoys life. A guy like that fits in because he’s so personable.”

Although he has only three assists in six games as a Shark, Selanne apparently has won over his new teammates. After a brief trial at left wing, Selanne is back on his customary right wing.

“It’s pretty sweet to have him over on the right side,” center Marco Sturm said of his new linemate. “I haven’t had a chance to play with a guy like that. I just want to keep feeding him the puck. He’s a great guy. He’s fitting in with no problem at all. He’s a good guy, a great player.”

Soon enough, a reporter was asking Selanne about Kariya, his old friend and former Duck teammate. Kariya joked this week that he intended to hammer Selanne into the boards early and often.

“He can’t even move me,” cracked Selanne, who has at least two inches and 25 pounds on Kariya. “I’m going to check him the whole game. Somebody has to, and I know all his tricks.”

And will he talk trash to Kariya?

“I might, yeah,” Selanne said, breaking into a mischievous laugh at the thought of taunting Kariya. “I don’t know what I’m going to say just yet.”