Selanne, Ducks Thrilled to Play for the Cup

May 24, 02:41 PM

Current Headlines: By KEN PETERS, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANAHEIM, Calif. The Ducks' Teemu Selanne was quite frightened in the closing moments against Detroit, and quite emotional afterward.

Anaheim withstood a late surge by the Red Wings, so Selanne who turns 37 in July will play in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time.

Shortly after Anaheim's 4-3 win in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals, Selanne stood amid the hubbub in the locker room, his freshly minted T-shirt and hat proclaiming that the Ducks were playing for the Stanley Cup.

"This is a special moment for me," he said, smiling but a bit choked up. "I've been watching the finals on TV for so many years, it's great to finally be able to play in them.

"Wow, what a thrill."

The Ducks, who wrapped up their series against Detroit on Tuesday night, will begin the league championship round against the Ottawa Senators on Monday night in Anaheim.

The teams didn't face each other this season and haven't met in Anaheim since Oct. 17, 2003, when Senators goalie Patrick Lalime made 30 saves in a 3-0 win.

In fact, they have played only once since then, with Anaheim's Chris Kunitz beating Dominik Hasek for the shootout winner in Ottawa on Jan. 19, 2006.

The Ducks won three straight over the Red Wings after losing two of the first three, and Selanne was a major contributor in those games. The "Finnish Flash" had four assists and two goals, including the winner in a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 5 that turned the series in the Ducks' favor.

After Anaheim built a 3-0 lead in the first two periods of Game 6, the Ducks seemed well on the way to their second appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost Game 7 to the Devils in 2003.

But the Red Wings didn't go quietly, outshooting Anaheim, 16-3, in the third period and scoring three times against goalie Jean- Sebastien Giguere.

After Pavel Datsyuk scored his second power-play goal with 3:04 remaining to draw the Red Wings to 4-3, those final frantic three minutes made Selanne afraid he was watching it all the series, the trip to the Finals slipping away.

"I have never been so nervous and so shaky in a hockey game in my life and I was on the bench," he said. "We did not want to go back to Detroit. It wasn't pretty."Now his attention turns to the Senators.

"It's not going to be easy," Selanne said. "They're sound all- around. I think it's going to be very exciting."

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