Anaheim Ducks add to Florida Panthers woes with 2-0 shutout victory -NHL Update
Anaheim goalie, Jonas Hiller, made sure none of the Florida players would be able to get a goal on him during their Sunday night contest, February 19, 2012, while Teemu Selanne and Niklas Hagman took care of the scoring part as the Ducks shutout Panthers,
2-0, at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, United States.
Veteran Anaheim forward, Teemu Selanne, who is probably playing is last season in the National Hockey League (NHL) after a potential resignation averted during the offseason, opened up the scoring with his 20th goal of the year at 12:13 in the
first.
Selanne has been a leader for Anaheim, especially at a time when wins are crucial to their survival until the postseason as the Ducks won their sixth match in the past 10.
Ducks are still at number 13 in the Western Conference with 60 points and are very close to capturing a playoff spot as they need six more points to overtake the eighth place Calgary Flames.
"He's just ... he's a wonder," Ducks coach, Bruce Boudreau, said of Selanne. "He could have had a couple today. Florida is where older people come, right? He comes here and he thrives. This is good. It really adds a dimension to the rest of our team when
he's going. We need that scoring from him."
The veterans 20th of the season came as a tip in on a rebound after Bobby Ryan failed to get it past Florida’s goalie, Jose Theodore, giving Anaheim the lead they needed to hold on to the match till the end.
With Hiller focused in net and succeeding in keeping Florida out till the final seconds, Niklas Hagman fired the insuring shot during a quarrel with Panthers defenseman on an empty net to secure the match at 19:45 of the third.
"It's nice to get to the 60-point plateau because then you can at least see the guys in the distance," Boudreau added. "We always believed that we're there. We don't really care what anybody else thinks about it. As long as we believe we're there, we're
OK."
Anaheim is looking forward to winning when they play against Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday while Florida will be hosting Minnesota Wild on Thursday.
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