Detroit evokes fond memories

DEARBORN, Mich. -- If the NHL-leading Detroit Red Wings could help it, they would have gladly seen Teemu Selanne follow through with retirement.

The Ducks take a three-game winning streak into today’s nationally televised game at Joe Louis Arena and the presence of Selanne recalls his last game in the place that provided one of the defining moments in his 14-year career.

A pivotal Game 5 of the Western Conference finals was one the Red Wings controlled for more than 59 minutes but led only 1-0 until Scott Niedermayer’s goal off the stick of Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom with 47.3 seconds to play sent the game into overtime.

And then came what Selanne calls the greatest of the 569 regular-season and playoff goals he has scored.

Detroit defenseman Andreas Lilja carried the puck from behind the Red Wings’ net with Selanne on his trail. Andy McDonald’s strong forechecking caused Lilja to mishandle the puck deep in his zone. Selanne jumped on the turnover, deked goalie Dominik Hasek to the ice and put the puck in top shelf off of his backhand.

“It’s one of those goals that you don’t have to think hard about to remember,” Selanne said Saturday after practice. “You could hear the people breathing. It was so quiet. It was almost scary, it was that quiet. It was big. It felt sweet.”

The rest is history. The Ducks won the series in six games and went on to win the Stanley Cup in five games over the Ottawa Senators.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere has been in goal for many of the Ducks’ biggest wins and said that moment ranks up near the top.

“Seeing the turnover and Teemu making that nice move backhand,” Giguere said. “It’s a move that he likes to do against me. He’d been practicing it a lot. . . . It was definitely one of the biggest goals in franchise history.”

Said Selanne: “I would say it’s the most important. Because if you can get by Detroit, the chances to win the whole thing were so much better and that’s what happened.”

Left wing Travis Moen went through a long practice session, his first since being hit with flu Tuesday. It caused him to drop 10 pounds.

“It was pretty nasty,” Moen said. “It was more fever, congestion and migraines. . . . I couldn’t eat anything the first two days.”

TODAY

at Detroit, 12:30 p.m. PST, Ch. 4

Site -- Joe Louis Arena.

Radio -- 830.

Records -- Ducks 30-22-7; Red Wings 41-11-5.

Record vs. Red Wings -- 1-1-1.

Update -- Already the career goal scoring leader, Selanne needs one point to become the club’s all-time scorer with 669, which would surpass his good friend Paul Kariya, now with St. Louis.

eric.stephens@latimes.com