Ducks Flap Their Wings While Beating Canadiens

Teemu Selanne, classy to the last, scrawled a few parting words for the Mighty Ducks on a chalkboard in the Arrowhead Pond dressing room.

“Thanks for everything guys!

“Best of luck!

“Your friend, Teemu.

“P.S. ‘Vish’ [defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski] don’t hit me please.�

In their first game since Monday’s blockbuster trade that sent Selanne to the San Jose Sharks, the Ducks displayed some flash with the puck in a 4-2 victory Wednesday over the Montreal Canadiens that would have made their friend proud.

An announced crowd of 12,568 sat in stony silence for long stretches, but came to life when left wing Jeff Friesen, the newest Duck, set up right wing Paul Kariya for two goals.

Friesen also was on the ice for center Tony Hrkac’s goal with 1:57 left in the final period. He had three shots on net, struck the goal post once and played on the power-play and penalty-killing units in his Duck debut.

“I’m not going to try to be Teemu,� Friesen said after playing 22 minutes 22 seconds. “I’m going to play my game and try to click with Paul and Tony. Playing with Paul and Tony is a great opportunity for me.�

Friesen also was picked to present a stick to a young fan in a pregame ceremony. “I was, like, ‘Oh my gosh, what’s going to happen here?’ � Friesen said.

There were no boos, only cheers for Friesen. He was cheered when he hit the ice for his first shift and when his name was announced for assisting on Kariya’s goals.

“I was very nervous,� he said. “There could have been a lot of negative things tonight. There were a lot of things that could have gone wrong.�

The crowd’s response to the trade was relatively tame until video highlights of Sunday’s game against the Kings were shown on the scoreboard. Selanne’s gorgeous backhander for his 225th and final goal as a Duck plus two assists on Kariya’s goals were edited from footage of the Ducks’ 4-0 victory, which drew a chorus of boos.

However, if they didn’t look closely Wednesday, the fans could have mistaken Friesen’s tape-to-tape passes to Kariya for Selanne’s tape-to-tape passes to Kariya.

“Paul is the most amazing player I’ve seen,� Friesen said. “I’m going to have to find my legs playing with him. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me to get up to Paul’s level of perfection. This was only one game.�

This wasn’t the first time Kariya and Friesen have played together. They were teammates on Team Canada’s 1996 World Championships team.

The speedy wingers certainly didn’t take long to click Wednesday. Friesen sent a cross-ice pass to Kariya in the neutral zone on their second shift of the game. Kariya zoomed down left wing and ripped a low shot past Montreal goaltender Mathieu Garon for a power-play goal 2:50 into the game.

“What amazed me was how much poise he showed on the ice with everything that’s been going on,� Coach Guy Charron said of Friesen. “He’s a young man who’s had a lot of pressure placed on him. He proved he’s a real veteran. I was really impressed with him.�

Center Matt Cullen gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead at 7:49 of the first period. Friesen’s breakout pass set up Kariya’s second goal 4:47 into the second period, giving the Ducks a 3-0 lead. Kariya has 10 goals in his last 12 games.

Patrice Brisebois and Arron Asham scored for Montreal, but Hrkac sealed the Ducks’ 20th victory of the season with his 12th goal with 1:57 remaining in the final period.

Duck goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, making his 11th consecutive start, had 27 saves for his second consecutive victory. He is 6-12-2 in 21 games.