Detroit – The Anaheim Ducks were within a minute of losing a game that could have led to the end of their season.
In overtime, Teemu Selanne had a split-second to decide what to do with the puck. He made the right choice.
Selanne scored 11:57 into the extra period and lifted Anaheim to a 2-1 comeback win over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday and a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals.
With 47.3 seconds left in regulation, Scott Niedermayer’s deflected shot fluttered over Dominik Hasek’s glove on a power play to tie the game and force overtime.
Andreas Lilja, who scored Detroit’s lone goal, turned the puck over to Selanne by missing it in front. The Ducks forward made a quick move before sending a backhander over a sprawling Hasek.
“Everything happened so quickly,” Selanne said. “You don’t have enough time to plan anything. But I’ve been practicing that move my whole life. I knew I had to get it up. He goes down and covers up everything down low.”
Lilja said he messed up on the play.
“It’s not supposed to happen, but it happens,” he said. “It hurts, but we have to put this behind us and move on.”
Game 6 is Tuesday night in Anaheim, where the Ducks will have a chance to win their third straight game in the series to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time.
“We couldn’t score,” Hasek said. “They pull the goalie and score on a deflection off my defenseman’s stick.
“It was a lucky goal, but it still counts the same as the others.”
