Teemu Selanne Comes Close, But Still Held Scoreless

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Teemu Selanne is one of the most prolific goal scorers to ever play the game. In fact, only ten players have scored more goals than he has all-time.
He holds the record for most goals by a rookie, and in this day and age, Steven Stamkos and Alex Ovechkin would be lucky to touch it – let alone a rookie entering the league.
He has also become one of the most beloved players not only by the Anaheim Ducks’ community, but the entire NHL fanbase.
So the recent slump he is in isn’t something easy to watch, but last night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks should be a sign of encouragement for the 43-year old Finish Flash.
Despite remaining scorless, Selanne had more chances last night than arguably the last month. The biggest key for him is to continue to get the puck on the net.
The first chance he had was just as good, if not better, than him ringing the crossbar against the Calgary Flames. Selanne found himself with a perfect shooting angle on the goalie, made a quick move that split open Antti Raanta’s five hole like the Red Sea – but the puck just grazed the inside of his leg to make it go wide, bounce off the post and not into the net.
His second opportunity wasn’t a shot on net, and on the team’s second power play – before the Ryan Getzlaf’s goal – Selanne was set up for an one-timer that he wasn’t able to get his whole stick on, and the puck hopped behind the net. Not a scoring chance – more an opportunity missed.
The last chance of the game came on a backhand, after a teammate batted the puck out of midair to keep the puck in, Selanne found himself with the puck and alone with the goalie. He didn’t have time to skate with the puck with defenders bearing down on him, so he fired a quick shot – backhands are always dangerous because of their unpredictability – but was once again stymied by Raanta.
You don’t get this close to 700-goals in your career solely on luck, all though some is involved, so scoring goals is like second nature for Selanne. He just has to get there again, and if last night was any indication – he could be close to breaking through.
If the Ducks go by what they have all season, it is unlikely to see Selanne in the lineup against the St. Louis Blues, so he will have to wait another day to break his streak.
Anthony Murphy is the Editor at Pucks of A Feather. You can follow him on Twitter @AMurphyTFC or reach him by email amurphy540@pullinamurph.com.
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