In Flick of His Wrist, Salei Revives Ducks

Mighty Duck defenseman Ruslan Salei had no chance to think between the moment teammate Adam Oates cleanly beat New Jersey’s Pascal Rheaume on a faceoff in the Devils’ zone and the time the puck rocketed back toward Salei.

“You kind of prepare yourself,” Salei said. “You’ve only got a split second, and sometimes not even that.”

Salei’s readiness at that moment Saturday bought the Ducks a victory and the gift of time, the most precious gift of all.

His blistering shot eluded goaltender Martin Brodeur 6 minutes 59 seconds into overtime to boost the Ducks to a 3-2 victory and head off the Devils’ attempt to steamroller the Ducks out of the Stanley Cup finals after having won the first two games at New Jersey.

The series will go at least five games now, and Salei hopes the emotional lift of winning at home and triumphing in another close game might become the turning point of the series for the Ducks.

“I’m feeling like we got our momentum back,” said Salei, a native of Belarus who learned English from watching the sordid and strange offerings of American daytime TV while he played for a minor league team in Las Vegas.

“This was real important because being down, 3-0, or 2-1, there’s a big difference. We knew we just got to believe in ourselves.”

Salei believed he could beat Brodeur to the goalie’s glove side. To aim there was firmly in his mind before Oates won the puck and it went, like a magnet, to Salei at the edge of the circle.

“I was thinking to aim far side, and as soon as I got the puck, I was thinking to shoot,” said Salei, who hadn’t scored since the Ducks’ series-clinching victory over Dallas May 5. “Luckily, it went in.”

In this case, though, the Ducks made their own luck with another faceoff win -- they were successful on 51 of 81, 63% -- and with perfect execution. They could hardly settle for less against a team that kept coming back and coming back, a team with more than a dozen players who have Stanley Cup rings and infinite experience.

Unlike their first two losses at New Jersey, the Ducks on Saturday calibrated their emotions precisely. They were flat for most of Game 1, their timing pushed off-kilter by the 10-day layoff between their sweep of Minnesota in the Western Conference finals and the start of the Cup finals. They were unlucky and seemed uninspired in Game 2, although Salei said the perception that they lacked emotion was inaccurate.

“I think it was too much emotion,” he said. “I think we were trying too hard and trying to squeeze our sticks extra hard. It took us, unfortunately, two games to get back to where we were.”

Salei helped them get there. A loss Saturday would have all but handed the Cup to the Devils, because only one team has ever rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the finals. Instead, because Salei was prepared for his moment at the blue line, the Ducks have time to regroup and to hope they can continue this improbable postseason journey.

“Rusty has a great shot,” Duck Coach Mike Babcock said. “We always say to him, ‘Get it on net once in a while.’ He must lead the league in hitting the glass. He shot the puck great there.”

Duck defenseman Keith Carney agreed.

“It was a great shot. A perfect shot, really,” Carney said. “Brodeur seemed to be in good position. Oatsie won the draw and got it back to him clean and bang-bang, it was a perfect shot just inside the post.”

Salei has been known more for his bruising hits than for his offensive abilities, but teammate Steve Rucchin said he wasn’t surprised Salei lit the red light.

“That’s not the first time he’s done that,” Rucchin said. “He’s got a great shot, as I’m sure J.S. [Giguere, the Ducks’ goalie] can attest.”

But this time, it wasn’t a practice or a scrimmage. It was the biggest game in the Ducks’ season, the one that would determine if they would go meekly into summertime and be satisfied with what they’ve done so far or would hunger for more and translate that into action.

“Everyone wants to be the hero,” Salei said.

Salei’s hunger was evident from the start. He was steady on defense, a physical presence without being a goon. Like his teammates, he rode the emotional swings of a tense, taut game in which the Devils seemed to have an answer for everything the Ducks did.

Although many observers had already written them off with the obligatory “roasted Duck” and “dead Duck” puns, the Ducks didn’t consider themselves finished. “Even in the [first-round] series against Detroit, everybody said it would be five games, and we won,” Salei said, referring to their sweep of the Red Wings. “We’re not trying to read the negative things.”

He paused.

“Besides, it’s pretty tough for me to read English,” he said.

As long as he can read plays, he and the Ducks will be fine.