Avalanche 4 - 5 Ducks
Final
  for this game

Selanne registers hat trick, Ducks down Avs

Mar 29, 2011 - 6:20 AM Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - Teemu Selanne registered a hat trick and two assists, as the Anaheim Ducks rallied from an early deficit to beat the Colorado Avalanche, 5-4, at Honda Center.

Cam Fowler and Jason Blake also scored for Anaheim, which has won six of its last seven games. Saku Koivu and Lubomir Visnovsky both collected two assists, while Ray Emery finished with 31 saves to remain undefeated in five starts as a Duck.

Anaheim maintained its one-point lead over eighth-place Chicago in the Western Conference standings while closing to within a point of Los Angeles and Nashville, which are tied for fifth.

Milan Hejduk picked up three assists for the Avalanche, who fell to 3-21-2 in their last 26 games. Brian Elliott gave up all five Anaheim goals on 42 shots.

Colorado built a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene, but Selanne scored twice in the middle frame as the Ducks battled back.

Colorado defenseman John-Michael Liles covered the puck in the crease, triggering a penalty shot for Selanne, who beat Elliott on the glove side 47 seconds in.

"The penalty shot was big. It changed the momentum of the game," said Colorado head coach Joe Sacco.

Anaheim tied it at 4:06 when Blake's pass to Koivu deflected in off Avalanche rearguard Erik Johnson. Selanne struck again when he picked off a clearing attempt and fired the puck past Elliott to give the Ducks a 3-2 lead at 9:01.

David Jones converted a pass from Daniel Winnik to pull Colorado even with 4:30 remaining in the second period.

The Ducks regained the lead on Fowler's power-play goal 2:49 into the third period. Selanne completed his 22nd career hat trick on another Anaheim power play with 4:49 left.

Colorado got a goal from Paul Stastny with 41.1 seconds to play to make things interesting, but the Ducks ultimately prevailed.

"We had a terrible first period," Selanne said. "We had a tough road trip and maybe that is why we were sluggish. We came back and found a way to win the game."

Game Notes

Selanne's first assist was the 700th of his career...Selanne became the first player in NHL history 40-or-older to record three goals and five points in a single game...Anaheim forward Corey Perry had his goal-scoring streak snapped at five games...The Ducks swept the season series and improved to 14-2-0 against the Avalanche since the beginning of the 2007-08 season.






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