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Ducks' Selanne set for final trip to Winnipeg

Oct 6, 2013 - 2:00 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - It has been a long and successful road for Teemu Selanne since he began his NHL career with the Winnipeg Jets 21 years ago.

Set to retire at season's end, the 43-year-old Selanne makes what will likely be his final trip to Winnipeg as an NHL player on Sunday night when his Anaheim Ducks take on the 2-0 Jets.

Taken 10th overall in the 1988 draft by the original Winnipeg Jets, who have since relocated to Phoenix, Selanne exploded onto the scene in 1992-93, setting a single-season record for goals as a rookie with 76 while also racking up 132 points. He earned the 1992-93 Calder Memorial Trophy and spent four seasons with the Jets, racking up 147 goals and 306 points in 231 games before being acquired by the Ducks.

Even as an elder, Selanne netted at least 26 goals in four straight campaigns prior to last season's lockout-shortened schedule. In 46 games, he had 12 goals and 12 assists.

The Fin, who played in three of his 10 career All-Star Games as a member of the Jets, has amassed 675 goals, 755 assists and 1,430 points in 1,388 career games. The NHL's current oldest active player won a Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007.

"His numbers certainly, both internationally and in the National Hockey League, speak volumes for the player, and this is a guy who performs," said Jets head coach Claude Noel. "You watch him play at his age, it's just a marvel. For me, it's always been a pleasure to watch him play, but even to continue to play at this level like he does is something else. I just hope we win the game as we marvel."

This is the first of three meetings this season between the Ducks and Jets and the final two will take place in Anaheim. That means barring a postseason matchup between these clubs, this will mark the final chance for Winnipeg fans to see Selanne in an NHL game.

Selanne should be well rested for the contest as he was a healthy scratch for last night's 4-3 overtime victory against Minnesota. Head coach Bruce Boudreau is expected to rest Selanne for a game this season when the Ducks play on back-to-back nights.

Anaheim newcomer Mathieu Perreault played the hero on Saturday night, scoring his winner on a backhander through the pads of Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom with less than five seconds to go in overtime.

Perreault was acquired from the Washington Capitals days before the start of the season and had played under Boudreau in D.C.

"He sure is dynamic, and that's why we had him out there in overtime," said his coach.

Anaheim, coming off a 6-1 loss to Colorado on Wednesday, also got goals from Saku Koivu, Nick Bonino and Jakob Silfverberg, while Jonas Hiller made 30 saves.

The Ducks will play the final test of a season-opening, three-game road trip looking to halt a four-game slide to the Jets franchise. They have not beaten the club since a 2-1 road win over Atlanta on Dec. 13, 2006.

Anaheim was bested 5-3 in its lone previous trip to Winnipeg on Dec. 17, 2011.

The Jets are off to their first 2-0 start since 2009-10 and are looking to win three straight to begin a season for the first time since 2003-04 in Atlanta. They began the campaign with a 5-4 win over Edmonton, then knocked off Los Angeles 5-3 on Friday night.

Evander Kane scored twice and Devin Setoguchi put home the eventual game- winning goal for the Jets. Olli Jokinen also scored and Ondrej Pavelec made 33 saves.

The Jets did allow the Kings to score twice on the power play in the third period to make it a one-goal game, but Bryan Little's empty-net tally sealed the win.

"First thing you can't do is start panicking," said Noel. "Obviously when it gets to 4-1 you want to start playing the right way, but if you get into penalty trouble, you're going to have some problems."

The Jets have won six of their last eight overall versus the Ducks.