Selanne Upstages Gretzky in a 5-1 Victory

Almost from the first day he pulled the strange and different jersey of a new team over his shoulder pads, he transformed the team that had traded for him.

With him on their side, his teammates seemed better, and he seemed rejuvenated himself, almost reborn.

His name?

Teemu Selanne, not Wayne Gretzky.

Gretzky skated onto the ice at the Pond of Anaheim in a St. Louis Blues’ uniform Sunday for the first time, but he was upstaged by Selanne, the player the Ducks got in a blockbuster trade of their own.

Selanne scored three goals in the Ducks’ 5-1 victory, recording the 10th hat trick of his career and his second in only 15 games with Anaheim.

Thirteen games under .500 when Selanne arrived, the Ducks are four games over .500 with him in the lineup (9-5-1). And by winning Sunday, they closed to within three points of Winnipeg for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.

As for Gretzky, who makes a potentially dramatic return to the Forum to play the Kings tonight, many among the crowd of 17,174 were booing him every time he touched the puck by game’s end.

Gretzky accepted it with nonchalance, but he was one of few who did.

“That’s nothing new for me, I’ve had that since I was 10, so I’m used to it,� he said. “I remember going to [Maple Leaf] Gardens and Bobby Orr was booed. You can’t worry about it too much.�

Blues Coach Mike Keenan, though, said he was “embarrassed for the game of hockey.�

Gretzky has been booed occasionally since his departure from the Kings, but Keenan said, “This is the first time it’s happened on a consistent basis, that’s why I’m disappointed for hockey. These people have to look at this from a broader perspective.�

The Ducks’ Paul Kariya, who grew up idolizing Gretzky, was baffled.

“I don’t know why they booed,� said Kariya, who assisted on all three of Selanne’s goals. “I couldn’t understand it, with what Wayne has done for the game of hockey. I don’t know if there would be a team here if not for him.�

Selanne objected too, saying, “I don’t like that. I think Gretzky is the greatest player in hockey and he’s done so much for the game. I don’t like that they were booing. The guy has class. I know the Kings and Ducks are battling, but he’s not there now. I think everybody should be glad Gretzky’s still playing and still so good.�

On the other hand, Duck Coach Ron Wilson barely stifled a smirk.

“That was fun, listening to the boos,� he said. “That’s not disrespect to Wayne Gretzky, I’m just glad our fans were behind us. When he came in with the Kings, half our fans were for the Kings, for whatever reason.�

The fans are definitely behind them now, with the Ducks threatening to make the playoffs for the first time in their three seasons after winning four games in a row.

“We played a team that’s playing very well right now,� Gretzky said. “They’re playing as well as they have. They’re in a desperate situation and need to win games. We didn’t play the way we had to to be competitive.�

Wilson appealed to the competitiveness in Selanne and Kariya by sending them out along with Alex Hicks to match Gretzky, Brett Hull and Shayne Corson to start the game.

“Ron’s been watching a lot of boxing, and he said he wanted to go toe-to-toe,� Kariya said.