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Surging Wild hope break doesn't cool off recent hot streak

Jan 30, 2008 - 3:26 PM Anaheim (27-20-6) at Minnesota (28-19-3) 7:00 pm EST

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (Ticker) - It's unlikely Teemu Selanne will be in the lineup when the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks face the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday.

The Ducks don't return home until February 15. Selanne, who led Anaheim with 48 goals and 94 points last year, is expected to rejoin the team during the nine-game trip.

Anaheim dropped its last three games, including a 3-1 loss to Los Angeles on Thursday. The Kings had a league-low 42 points before the All-Star break.

"The last three games we've been real inconsistent," Ducks' All-Star Scott Niedermayer said.

Anaheim is 12-5-2 since Niedermayer returned following a brief retirement and was 8-0-1 in the nine games before the recent three-game skid.

The Wild won two of three games and were 5-2-1 in their last eight games before the break, including a 3-2 victory at Colorado that enabled Minnesota to climb into first place in the Northwest Division prior to the three-day layoff.

Minnesota, 15-8-1 at home, is 23-3-1 when scoring the first goal of a game and is a perfect 20-0-0 when leading after two periods.