Ducks' Teemu Selanne to play in 1,300th NHL game

Every time Ducks right wing Teemu Selanne steps on the ice or records a point, he seems to reach another career milestone or move up on the NHL’s all-time scoring lists.

The 41-year-old Finn was poised to hit another milestone Tuesday against the Dallas Stars by playing in his 1,300th NHL game. That will make him the 52nd player in NHL history, ninth European-born player and only the second Finn — after Teppo Numminen --to reach that number.  Among active players he ranks fourth, after Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom (1,535), Washington’s Roman Hamrlik (1,347), and Philadelphia’s Jaromir Jagr (1,307).

“It’s a big number, yes,” he said after the Ducks’ morning skate at the Honda Center. “A couple guys reminded me today there was some money on the board. They don’t forget stuff like that.”

While he’d be happy to win the cash teammates put up for him, he’s even happier to still be playing and to feel no problems with the knee that has bothered him the last few seasons.

“A lot of good things have happened that I can play so many games,” said Selanne, who leads the team in scoring with 39 points in 40 games. “We’re always very thankful for that.”

He said he doesn’t keep track of all the career lists he’s climbing, such as ranking 13th in goals at 651 and 22nd in points with 1,379. But reaching such a high number of games played, he said, is meaningful because it proves his longevity and ability to play at a high level for a long time.

“If you can play so many years that’s a big thing,” he said. “And still having fun. That’s good.

“It has been a more frustrating year than before but that has been my goal, to just come in here every day and try to enjoy and do what you can do and try to enjoy it as much as you can. It’s easier when you win, but still in the morning when I leave from home it’s still a happy place to come. That’s how it should be and I’m very happy it’s so.”

Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said he recalled hockey observers were skeptical after Selanne broke into the NHL with a 76-goal, 132-point performance in 1992-93.

“All us guys that were retired at that point thought he would be a flash in the pan, like, ‘Who’s this guy? The new era of hockey. There’s no checking anymore,’” Boudreau said.

“But he sure has done the test of time. And he deserves everything he gets because he’s a better person than he is a player, and he’s a great player. The goals he’s gotten, from highlights that I’ve seen, from his younger days, I mean, they’re still in a lot of top 10s of best goals ever.”

Boudreau said Selanne’s ability to crisply take a pass without breaking stride or losing control of the puck remains uncanny.

“I told him today, ‘Gordie Howe played until he was in his 50s. I don’t see what your problem is,’” Boudreau said.

Before the morning skate the Ducks recalled goaltender Jeff Deslauriers from Syracuse of the American Hockey League. Deslauriers and Iiro Tarkki were the two goalies on the ice; Jonas Hiller (lower-body injury) did not skate.

“We were hoping he would be able to skate today and back up but it’s pushed back. We’re hoping the same thing can happen for Calgary,” Boudreau said of the team’s game on Thursday. “So it’s still day to day. That’s why we brought Jeff up.”

Deslauriers has played 14 games with Syracuse and is 6-7-0 with a 3.86 goals-against average and .877 save percentage.

“I’ve seen him play some pretty good games. At the beginning of last year he was stated as maybe the savior for Edmonton’s goaltending,” Boudreau said. “I don’t know what happened, but I’ve seen him play great and I’ve seen him play not so great. Let’s hope the former more than the latter.”

The Ducks also assigned forward J.F. Jacques and defenseman Mark Fraser to Syracuse and announced that Syracuse had restructured its coaching staff. Trent Yawney was appointed associate head coach and coach Mark Holick was relegated to an associate coach. Marty Wilford will remain as assistant coach.

Check back later for more coverage at www.latimes.com/sports.

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Photo: Teemu Selanne. Credit: Stephen Dunn / Getty Images.

 

Ducks' Jason Blake returns to different situation

When Ducks left wing Jason Blake was accidentally cut on the left wrist by the skate of San Jose defenseman Brent Burns in the Ducks' third game of the season, the team was on its way to a rare good start. The Ducks won the game in which Blake was injured to improve to 2-1 and won their next two games as well.

Blake, who underwent surgery and rehabilitation on his wrist, will return Wednesday when the Ducks face San Jose at Honda Center, slightly ahead of the schedule projected for his recovery. While he was gone the Ducks' good beginning turned into a grim season.

The Ducks (10-21-6) rank 29th in the NHL and were 19 points out of the final West playoff start before Wednesday’s games. Blake’s absence is a small factor in their struggles—the blame goes to inadequate goaltending, shaky defense and a spiraling lack of confidence—but his competitiveness should inject life into a team that seems to fall apart when the slightest thing goes wrong.

Blake is eager to get back and is expected to be reunited with his old linemates, center Saku Koivu and right wing Teemu Selanne.

“It’s been a tough three months sitting out, not being able to play, not being able to do anything for about six weeks there,” Blake said after the Ducks’ morning skate at Honda Center.

“It’s nice to get back and play hockey and be around the guys. That’s what you miss the most. We’ve got such a great group of guys in here. You just want to hopefully get in there and contribute and do well.”

He said he never imagined the team would struggle so miserably since that good start.

“Obviously there’s been a lot of ups and downs,” he said. “But it’s a new year and we’ve got a lot of hockey left. Strange things can happen. I think the biggest thing for the Ducks is to worry about the Ducks and not worry about anything else. Don’t look at the standings, just play. We’ve got to win hockey games. That’s the bottom line. Even if you were in a playoff spot right now you’ve still got to win games.

“The onus is on the players. We have to make sure that we’re ready to play. You can draw the Xs and O's all you want but you’ve got to go out there and perform.”

Coach Bruce Boudreau, who replaced Randy Carlyle while Blake was on injured reserve, said he planned to give Blake no more than 14 or 15 minutes’ ice time in order to ease Blake back in.

“He’ll give us a boost,” Boudreau said. “You know Jason. He’s full of energy. He’ll play hard. He always does.”

Although Boudreau hasn’t seen Blake play this season, he’s familiar with Blake from their shared time in the Kings’ farm system. Boudreau said he coached Blake for a few weeks in Lowell, Mass., then the Kings’ American Hockey League affiliate, and remembers him well.

“And I’ve seen him in L.A. when he was younger but he’s a different person than when he was younger,” Boudreau said. “He’s got the same feistiness but I think he’s a little more mature than he was back then.”

Blake, incidentally, said he held no grudge against Burns for the freak accident and wouldn't be seeking any kind of retribution Wednesday.

“Stuff happens in hockey,” Blake said. “I haven’t even thought about Brent. I have the utmost respect for him even before this happened.”

Check back later for more coverage at www.latimes.com/sports

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Photo: The Ducks Jason Blake is held down by Vancouver Canucks Keith Ballard during a game on Oct. 13, 2010. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times.

Ducks make personnel moves, praise realignment plan

Some news and notes from the Ducks’ morning skate in preparation for Tuesday’s game against the Kings at Honda Center:

--The Ducks made a few personnel moves, activating goaltender Dan Ellis (groin) and winger George Parros (eye surgery) and sending goalie Jeff Deslauriers back to Syracuse of the American Hockey League. In addition, they called up center Nick Bonino from Syracuse and lost forward Ben Maxwell on waivers to Winnipeg.

Coach Bruce Boudreau, still seeking his first win since replacing Randy Carlyle last Thursday, said Parros would be a game-time decision. He also said Bonino wouldn’t play against the Kings, who won the teams’ first two meetings this season.

--Boudreau said he’s still getting up to speed and learning about his players. He held a long meeting after the skate Tuesday but said it was game-specific and geared toward the Kings.

“We are still catching up. [Monday] was sort of catching up and learning what we’re trying to get done here,” he said. “Today is all about L.A. and how to try to beat them.”

--Among the players Boudreau said he was learning about is winger Matt Beleskey, who’s expected to play on a line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

“When you’re in the East you don’t hear about Matt Beleskey and you don’t hear too much about Andrew Cogliano, even though he’s a Toronto boy and played in Edmonton, where you pretty well hear hockey 24/7,” said Boudreau, who previously coached the Washington Capitals.

“But you don’t hear about those guys and [Maxime] Macenauer, I didn’t know at all who he was until I got here. It’s intriguing to see what they can and can’t do, and that takes a little bit of time.”

--Winger Bobby Ryan said he liked the realignment plan that was approved Monday by the NHL's Board of Governors, a reconfiguration that will divide teams among four conferences — two with eight teams and two with seven teams — and will change the playoff format. He said the new alignment should reduce the travel for many teams, a problem in the West.

“We’re obviously a team that has some tough, challenging road trips. I’m all for it,” he said. “It should be interesting. Maybe a shakeup is just what we need.

“I do like the fact that you get to play every team in a home-and-home series. I think that’s important to establish rivalries and to keep those things fresh in people’s minds. Sometimes games go forgotten when it’s been so long between two teams playing.”

Boudreau also said he likes the new setup.

“I think it will create great rivalries and it makes it an awful lot easier for the teams in the West to play in the same time zone,” he said.

"Same thing with the Central and the Eastern teams. It’s going to be really tough to make the playoffs, but it’s not a walk in the park. This is what sports is all about. I think they did a great job.”

Check back later for coverage of the Kings-Ducks game at www.latimes.com/sports

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Ex-Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle: Experience was positive, firing wasn't

Randy Carlyle, who coached the Ducks to the Stanley Cup in 2007 but was fired Wednesday because of the team's prolonged struggles, said Saturday he has been traveling "an emotional road" since his dismissal and will take a brief fishing trip to Northern California before considering his hockey future.

"We'll see," he said when asked if he expects to coach in the NHL again. "I'm working on putting one foot in front of another for the next couple of days."

Carlyle's last game was a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, which ended the Ducks' seven-game losing streak. However, General Manager Bob Murray had decided that no matter the outcome, he would dismiss Carlyle and replace him with Bruce Boudreau, the former Washington Capitals coach.

Boudreau lost his Ducks debut when the team squandered a three-goal lead and lost, 4-3, in overtime Friday. It was much like many of the games Carlyle coached this season, in fact, with a team that lacks depth and discipline.