Selanne Leads Anaheim to 1-0 Lead over Detroit

Teemu Selanne, the oldest NHL player at 42 years of age, scored his 42^nd playoff goal to lead the Anaheim Ducks past the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 in the first game of their series in Anaheim on Tueday.

“When you have a passion for scoring goals, it doesn’t matter who old you are,” said Selanne. “Maybe the celebrations go down a little bit, but inside it’s the same feeling.”

The Ducks scored all three of their goals on the power play. Nick Bonino put the Ducks ahead in the first period, four seconds after Jordin Tootoo went to the box for cross-checking. It was his first goal since February 27. He had a lower back injury and did not return until April 21. Dan Cleary tied it up a few minutes later when Daniel Winnik got a penalty for hooking.

Selanne scored his goal 1:29 into the third period, putting the Ducks up 2-1. After that, it was all up Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller. The Red Wings tried hard to come back in the third, but could not penetrate the Ducks defense or Hiller. He made 21 out of 22 saves and 11 of those came in the third period.

Detroit pulled Howard for an extra skater, but it did not work. Instead, Francois Beauchemin scored an empty net goal to seal the deal.

Game two is set for Thursday in Anaheim.