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Selanne's Ducks visit Stamkos and the Lightning

Feb 21, 2012 - 3:51 PM (Sports Network) - The Ducks' Teemu Selanne continues to produce despite being on the other side of 40, while Steven Stamkos of the Lightning has established himself as one of the best young stars in the game.

Even with their difference in age, the goal for the two remains the same: make the playoffs.

Anaheim and Tampa Bay continue that quest this evening in the lone meeting between the two clubs this season.

Neither the Ducks or Lightning looked like playoff contenders early on in the season, but the franchises have been doing an excellent job of making up ground. Anaheim comes into tonight five points behind Calgary and Los Angeles for the eighth seed in the Western Conference, while Tampa Bay is six points back of the East's final playoff position.

The Ducks have not suffered a regulation loss since Feb. 1 and are in the midst of a 6-0-3 run that was extended with Sunday's shutout victory over the hosting Panthers. Selanne netted his 20th goal of the season and Niklas Hagman sealed the 2-0 win with an empty-net tally.

Jonas Hiller made 31 saves for his third shutout of the season and 14th of his career for the Ducks, who bounced back from Friday's shootout loss to the Devils to improve to 4-0-2 on an eight-game road trip that ends at Carolina on Thursday. Anaheim hasn't logged points in 10 straight games since going 8-0-2 from Feb. 25-March 16, 2007.

"Everybody has the belief that we can climb back (into the playoffs)," Selanne said. "We're still not really there, but it's good to get a win tonight. I don't think we played that well, but Jonas was really good today."

Selanne has been good all season. His 657 career goals moved him one ahead of Brendan Shanahan for sole possession of 12th place on the all-time list and the 41-year-old Selanne also became the oldest player to net 20 goals in a season since Johnny Bucyk did so for Boston during the 1976-77 campaign.

Stamkos, meanwhile, continues to reach his own milestones. His league-leading 40th goal of the season on Saturday gave the Lightning a big 2-1 win over the Capitals and made him just the fifth player in league history to log three straight 40-goal seasons before turning 23. The other four are Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Dale Hawerchuk and Alex Ovechkin.

He also broke his own franchise record with his ninth game-winning goal of the season.

"It's nice," Stamkos added. "Little kind of milestones you set before the year, but it's also nice to get the win, especially at this time of year when we're battling for that last playoff spot. It was a huge win for us. I thought we played solid defensively and capitalized on our chances. We're inching closer and we have to keep being hungry."

Tom Pyatt also scored for Tampa Bay and Mathieu Garon made 23 saves, including eight in the third period to protect a one-goal lead. Tampa Bay bounced back defensively after posting a 6-5 overtime victory against San Jose on Thursday.

"We isolated this game. Nothing before and nothing after. It was just one game against Washington," said Lightning coach Guy Boucher. "There was a few things we wanted to do better, namely not allow five goals."

The Lightning, who have won six of their last nine at home and close out a four-game residency, held the Capitals to one goal on the same day they traded defenseman Pavel Kubina to Philadelphia for a pair of draft picks and a minor leaguer. Tampa Bay had dealt Dominic Moore to the Sharks last Thursday as well.

The club could also find itself without Vincent Lecavalier tonight after he left Monday's practice early. The Lightning said he has an upper-body issue and is day-to-day.

The Ducks have won three straight -- all beyond regulation -- versus the Lightning and six of the past seven encounters overall. They notched a 3-2 home victory in overtime last year after having posted a shootout victory in Tampa Bay in their last trip there on Jan. 29, 2010.

Anaheim has won three straight as the guest in this series.