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Selanne's three assists help Ducks slip past Wild

Oct 28, 2011 - 4:32 AM St. Paul, MN (Sports Network) - Teemu Selanne had three assists as the Anaheim Ducks took a 3-2 decision over the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center.

Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf each tallied a goal for the Ducks, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

Jonas Hiller made 23 saves.

Jared Spurgeon and Matt Cullen scored goals for Minnesota, while Niklas Backstrom stopped 13 shots in the Wild's fourth loss in five games.

Anaheim struck first thanks to a Darroll Powe holding penalty. Selanne's shot from the right point hit a defender and bounced to Getzlaf at the right circle, who sent a pass across the crease to Perry. Perry stopped the disc with his skate and flipped it into the wide open net as he fell to the ice at the 8:47 mark of the first period.

The Ducks extended their lead in the second. Toni Lydman sent a slap shot from the left point that was stopped by Backstrom. Selanne jabbed at the rebound from in front of the net before Ryan skated down from the slot, grabbed the loose puck, cruised to the side of the net and wristed a shot into the open net as Backstrom realized where the puck was a little too late.

The Wild made it a one-goal game with a little under seven minutes to go in the second when Devin Setoguchi's wrister from the high slot was blocked by Hiller, but the big rebound bounced right to Spurgeon at the right circle. He quickly sent the puck past the tip of the diving goaltender's glove and into the twine for a power-play goal.

But Anaheim extended its lead in the third with the Ducks' second power-play goal of the game. Selanne received a pass on the left of the net and flicked the puck across the crease to Getzlaf, who laid it into the open net before Backstrom could get across.

"We just executed right to the finish," Getzlaf said. "We've been working pretty hard to get pucks to the net and do all the little things and tonight we got rewarded for it."

Minnesota again made it a one-goal game with 6:06 to play in regulation when Cullen deflected Mikko Koivu's shot through the legs of Hiller, but the Wild were forced to kill two penalties in the final five minutes of the game, reducing their chance to score the equalizer.

"We played really well, but we have to be better on the penalty kill," Backstrom said. "Our special teams are not good enough."

Game Notes

The Ducks won in St. Paul for the first time since January 17, 2009...Anaheim improved to 2-1-1 on the road this season, while Minnesota fell to 2-2-1 at home.