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Surging Ducks take aim at the Pacific Division lead

Feb 22, 2008 - 1:06 PM St. Louis (28-23-9) at Anaheim (34-23-7) 10:00 pm EST

ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) - Teemu Selanne's return has coincided with the Anaheim Ducks' return to Stanley Cup form.

The Ducks go for their eighth win in the last nine games when they host the St. Louis Blues on Friday.

Selanne sat out the team's first 56 games while contemplating retirement, but returned on February 5 just in time for Anaheim to make its recent climb.

The "Finnish Flash" has five points in eight games since his return, and set the club's all-time scoring record with an assist in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames.

Selanne scored a power-play goal in Wednesday's 3-2 shootout win over the Colorado Avalanche and Corey Perry netted the lone shootout tally. The win moved the Ducks to within four points of Pacific-Division leading Dallas (37-22-5, 79 points).

Anaheim is 6-2-0 in its last eight games on home ice, and 18-8-4 overall here.

The Blues had their two-game winning streak snapped in embarrassing fashion on Thursday - a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, who own the worst record in the NHL.

St. Louis had scored 10 goals during its brief winning streak, but managed to convert just once in 33 shots on Thursday. All-Star goaltender Manny Legace - who had been stellar in recent weeks - was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 19 shots.

The loss leaves the Blues five points behind both Calgary (31-22-8) and Vancouver (31-22-8) for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoff race.