Fri, Apr 02, 2004 page24

• `Finnish Flash' finally sparkles

  • AP
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  Teemu Selanne never sulked during his 19-game pointless streak that had some Colorado Avalanche fans wondering if the Finnish Flash was finished.

  Selanne did not complain to the media about playing on third and fourth lines during the funk. He did not stop trying and on Monday scored his first goal since Feb. 15 to give Colorado a badly needed victory over Los Angeles.

  Selanne, 33, won praise from teammates and coaches for maintaining a positive, team-first attitude.

  

  Chris Chelios, left, of the Detroit Red Wings, controls the puck against Teemu Selanne of the Colorado Avalanche in Denver, Colorado on Feb. 5.

  PHOTO: AFP

  "Teemu has been working hard," coach Tony Granato said. "I think his skating has been better lately. He kept trying to do the things to put himself in scoring positions and he got rewarded."

  For his part, Selanne said he wouldn't care if he doesn't score another goal the rest of the season as long as the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup. But he hopes he can be a contributor.

  "My only personal mission is to get confidence for the playoffs and try to help this team more. I know I can be the difference," Selanne said. "I'm always positive. Of course it's tough sometimes, but the only thing that matters is team success. I just want to put my effort in, too."

  He said he never wondered if he is washed up.

  "All I needed was a little confidence," he said. "Hopefully that's going to build for the playoffs, because that's the only thing that matters now."

  Selanne has played on a line with everyone from Joe Sakic and Paul Kariya to Peter Worrell and Riku Hahl, and was a healthy scratch for the first time in his career at one point.

  But he kept working to get himself out of the doghouse. Granato played Selanne with Kariya and Sakic for much of the game against the Kings.

  "We knew things were going to come," Kariya said. "Teemu is going to score big goals for us the rest of the year. We've all had our struggles this year, but he's a big-game player. We're really excited about [the playoffs] and can't wait to get going."

  Red Wings 3, Blue Jackets 2

  Robert Lang scored his first goal in a Detroit uniform Wednesday, jamming in a loose puck in the third period to lead the Red Wings to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

  The Red Wings' fourth straight win gave them 107 points, clinching the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They also have a three-point lead over Tampa Bay in the race for the NHL's best record.

  Red Wings fans ran down to the glass and tossed two octopi on the ice, a Red Wings tradition, in celebration during the final minute.

  Lang played his first game after missing 11 with a rib injury. His previous goal was scored Feb. 25, two days before he was traded from Washington to the Red Wings.

  Lang's 30th goal came with 10:57 left when he got past Andrew Cassels and tapped a loose puck by goaltender Marc Denis.

  "Shanny got it in his skates. He just held the defenseman," Lang said. "I had myself a little mini-breakaway. It was nice to get my first goal as a Red Wing."

  Trevor Letowski and Donald MacLean had the Columbus goals. MacLean had not scored an NHL goal since Nov. 13, 1997, while with Los Angeles.

  Islanders 5, Canadiens 1

  In Uniondale, New York, Mark Parrish and Roman Hamrlik each had two goals to help the New York Islanders thrash Montreal to move closer to a playoff berth.

  Adrian Aucoin also scored for the Islanders, whose magic number to clinch the final slot in the Eastern Conference playoffs dropped to two over Buffalo.

  Rick DiPietro stopped 20 shots for his 22nd win.

  Senators 5, Panthers 4

  In Sunrise, Florida, Martin Havlat scored with 6:26 left in the third period to lead Ottawa past Florida.

  The victory moved the Senators past Toronto and Philadelphia into third place in the Eastern Conference standings. Ottawa has 100 points, Toronto 99 and Philadelphia 98. Ottawa and Toronto have two games remaining, while the Flyers have three.

  Florida goalie Roberto Luongo stopped 30 of 35 shots, setting an NHL single-season record for most shots faced. Luongo's 2,443 shots broke the mark of 2,438 set by Toronto's Felix Potvin in 1996-1997.
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