ANAHEIM, Calif. — Teemu Selanne’s former teammates among the Avalanche praised the Finnish winger after he became the 18th player in NHL history to reach the 600-goal career milestone — but they weren’t thrilled about it happening against Colorado on Sunday night.
“That’s a great accomplishment for him,” Avalanche captain Adam Foote said after Anaheim’s 5-2 win in the Honda Center. “At one point, I think people thought he was done, and he came back hard. It’s good for him.”
Said veteran winger Milan Hejduk: “I wish he had scored his 600th goal against another team, not against us. I wish him well, but it didn’t have to happen tonight.”
Veteran defenseman Ruslan Salei, who scored one of the Avalanche’s two third- period goals, played with Selanne at Anaheim.
“Unfortunately, it was against us, but I’m happy for him,” Salei said.
“I mean, 600 is a huge milestone, and I wanted to congratulate him and did on the ice.”
Selanne’s goal total includes 147 with the Winnipeg Jets, 373 in his two stints with Anaheim, 64 with San Jose and 16 with Colorado.
Sick.
Anaheim won despite not having its leading goal scorer, U.S. Olympian Bobby Ryan, who missed the game with flulike symptoms.
Manpower.
For Colorado, winger Cody McLeod (leg) and Salei (torso) were back in the lineup against the Ducks after missing two and five games, respectively. The Avs’ healthy scratches were defenseman Brett Clark and center Chris Durno. Center Stephane Yelle (leg) and defenseman Ryan Wilson (concussion) didn’t make the trip.
Terry Frei, The Denver Post
