NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Teemu Selanne lifted the Anaheim Ducks to a crucial win over the Nashville Predators for the second time in a week.
Selanne scored the only shootout goal and the Ducks beat the Predators 2-1 on Tuesday night to move into a position for a postseason berth.
Anaheim climbed over Nashville into eighth place in the Western Conference with its fourth consecutive victory. Both teams have 78 points with nine games left, but the Ducks are now above the postseason cutoff because they have one more victory than the Predators, who have lost three straight.
Anaheim’s winning streak started when Selanne scored a power-play goal in overtime to give the Ducks a 4-3 win last Wednesday.
After the first three players for both teams were denied on their shootout attempts, Selanne skated in on goaltender Pekka Rinne and lifted a backhander just under the crossbar.
“He’s so big that when he goes down, he can cover the whole bottom of the net from post-to-post,” Selanne said of Rinne, a fellow Finn. “I had a chance to see what our three other shooters were doing, and I decided to go with that move.”
Said Rinne: “He’s very good at the shootout because he has good moves and fakes his shot really well. He was always my hero watching national team games. It’s been nice to face him a few times.”
Jean-Sebastien Giguere then stopped Nashville’s Radek Bonk to seal the win for the Ducks.
Rangers 2, Wild 1: At New York, Nikolai Zherdev had a goal and an assist, and New York moved into a sixth-place tie in the Eastern Conference.
Maple Leafs 3, Capitals 2, SO: At Toronto, Curtis Joseph stopped eight shots in overtime and Washington’s three shootout chances after entering the game late in the third period, leading Toronto to the win.
Canucks 5, Stars 2: At Dallas, Daniel Sedin scored the go-ahead goal moments after taking a stick in the mouth, Ryan Kesler and Henrik Sedin each had two goals, and Vancouver beat Dallas.
Canadiens 6, Thrashers 3: At Montreal, Alex Tanguay had two goals and three assists and Montreal snapped a five-game losing streak.
Lightning 2, Blue Jackets 1: At Tampa, Fla., Martin St. Louis scored with 1:56 left in overtime to give Tampa Bay a victory over Columbus.
Blues 2, Kings 0: At St. Louis, rookie Patrik Berglund scored twice in the third period, Chris Mason made 22 saves for his fifth shutout of the season and St. Louis beat Los Angeles.
Red Wings 3, Oilers 2: At Edmonton, Alberta, Valtteri Filppula scored with 1:26 left in the game and Detroit won to move back into first place overall in the NHL.