It’s All About Momentum Now

On Nov. 20, the Mighty Ducks had lost their eighth straight game and the playoffs were not even on the far horizon. “We had a new coach and new players,” said winger Teemu Selanne. “We knew it would take time for everyone to find their roles.”

On Thursday, the Ducks were basking in the glow of one of their biggest comebacks -- Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime victory over the Colorado Avalanche that puts them firmly in the playoff picture. “The best time of the year for a hockey player is the playoffs,” Selanne said Thursday. “Every game we play now is like a playoff game.”

His smile enhanced by a missing tooth left behind in the Olympics, Selanne said this time of year “is all about momentum ... right now, we’re on a roll.”

The team is 8-1-1 in its last 10 games and one point behind the fifth-place Avalanche in the Western Conference.

“When we fell behind 3-0, we knew [the Avalanche] weren’t outplaying us,” Selanne said. “ ... We knew we were going to come back sooner or later.”

By the end of the second period, the Ducks narrowed the gap to 4-2. By the end, it was tied and then Jonathan Hedstrom won it with his picture-perfect penalty shot in overtime.

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TONIGHT

vs. Nashville, 7:30, FSN West 2

Site -- Arrowhead Pond.

Radio -- 1510.

Records -- Ducks 35-21-12, Predators 42-19-8.

Record vs. Predators -- 2-0-1.

Update -- Nashville is 8-0-2 in its last 10 games and riding a five-game winning streak.

Tickets -- (877) 945-3946.