Selanne, Getzlaf ‘questionable’ for Wednesday.

The good news for the Ducks is that the injuries to Ryan Getzlaf and Teemu Selanne aren’t as serious as they could have been, considering neither was able to finish Sunday’s game against the San Jose Sharks.

The bad news is, with the team’s playoff hopes leaving them in the position of having to win nearly every game remaining, both forwards are questionable for Wednesday’s game against Chicago.

An MRI exam Monday revealed a slight sprain in Selanne’s left shoulder. He will be evaluated again tomorrow morning and is currently listed as day-to-day. Getzlaf also had an MRI on his sprained left ankle, which revaled inflammation in the area but no further damage. He is also day-to-day.

Meanwhile enforcer George Parros, who was struck by a puck in Sunday’s morning skate, sustained a “contusion/laceration” on the side of his head and is likely to practice tomorrow and be available Wednesday.

The Ducks have recalled forward Kyle Calder from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Calder collected no goals and two assists in 14 games with Anaheim earlier this season. With the Marlies, he had 11 goals and 24 points in 31 games.

Ducks 4, San Jose 2.

Even in the midst of some great news – the team’s first win since the Olympic break – bad news still found the Ducks in the form of game-ending injuries to Teemu Selanne and Ryan Getzlaf.

After scoring his 599th career goal in the first period, Selanne left the ice in a daze after colliding shoulder-first into the end boards in the third period and did not return. Getzlaf, meanwhile, re-aggravated the left ankle injury he suffered in February and played only 15:34.

A team spokesperson reported only that Selanne had suffered an “upper body injury” and will undergo tests Monday. Getzlaf, meanwhile, is day-to-day and will also be re-evaluated Monday.

Other than that, Sunday’s outing was easily the best thing to happen to the Ducks since the Olympics ended. Corey Perry, Lubomir Visnovsky and Bobby Ryan also scored goals and Jonas Hiller stopped 30 of 32 shots for the victory.

“They seem to bring out the best in us,” Ryan said of the Sharks. “Hopefully it’s a starting block.”

The win was the Ducks’ first in six tries against Western Conference-leading San Jose, allowing them to avoid an embarrassing season sweep.

“They’ve taken it to us pretty much all year.
It’s nice to finally get a win against them,” Perry said. “You never know down the
road
what can happen. It’s a confidence boost in knowing we can play with the
top teams in the league. We have to keep that rolling.”

San Jose 3, Ducks 1.

The Ducks played the San Jose Sharks as tough as anyone has recently — and still lost to kick off their six-game road trip at HP Pavilion. Matt Beleskey scored the Ducks’ lone goal, and Jonas Hiller stopped 22 of 24 in the loss.

With the game still scoreless entering the second period, a longMarc-Eduoard Vlasicslapshot created by a faceoff win, and a deflection in the slot by a fast-breaking Rob Blake, gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead.


Beleskey notched his fifth goal of the season at 1:15 of the third period to bring the Ducks within 2-1, taking a slick backhand pass from Kyle Chipchura and blasting a shot past Evgeni Nabokov in the slot. All of Beleskey’s goals have come in the month of January, and his five goals this month lead NHL rookies.

But the Ducks could not convert a pair of late power plays, including a tripping penalty that put Joe Thornton in the box for two minutes with 3:10 left in the game. Hiller was pulled for an extra attacker late in the 5-on-4, giving the Ducks six men on the ice for nearly 90 seconds to end the game.

Though they were able to create shots, none fooled Nabokov, and longtime Duck killer Patrick Marleau sealed the Sharks’ win by scoring into an empty net with 5.5 seconds left.

More details in tomorrow’s editions.

Sharks 5, Ducks 2.

The gap between first and last in the Pacific Division isn’t getting any smaller, literally or figuratively.


The Ducks are now a full 16 points behind the first-place San Jose Sharks after losing 5-2 on Saturday, their second loss in San Jose in the last nine days. Unlike in their 4-1 loss at HP Pavilion on Dec. 17, in which they kept it close early then fell behind late, the Ducks were outworked early and often, falling behind 5-0 with six minutes still to play in the middle period.

Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere stuck this one out after getting hit hard, allowing goals to Patrick Marleau (twice), Dany Heatley, Ryane Clowe and Jamie McGinn. Kyle Chipchura and Bobby Ryan scored in the second and third periods, respectively, to turn a blowout into a mere downer.

Chipchura scored his second goal of the season, and second as a Duck, by checking former Duck Kent Huskins to the ice, stealing the puck, and skating in unobstructed with 1:04 left in the second period.

Ryan had to work a little harder for his 17th goal of the season, crashing the net for the rebound of a Corey Perry shot, then whacking it in between the legs of Evgeni Nabokov (32 saves) at 4:39 of the third period.

Ryan Getzlaf left the game in the second period after sustaining a cut on his leg in traffic, but color analyst Brian Hayward said after the game that the injury isn’t serious.

Duck killer Joe Thornton had three assists and Sharks captain Rob Blake added two. George Parros, Chipchura, and Matt Beleskey all dropped the gloves for the Ducks, fighting Frazer McLaren, Scott Nichol and Jed Ortmeyer, respectively.

The Ducks (15-16-7) return home to face the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night at Honda Center.

San Jose 4, Ducks 1.

Joe Thornton had a jumbo night at HP Pavilion: Two goals andtwo assists, helping the Sharks break a five-game losing streak at the Ducks’ expense.

The final score doesn’t reflect a game that Jean-Sebastien Giguere did well to keep close for 53 minutes. It was 2-1when Thornton scored on a power-play putback at 13:23 of the final period,and Devin Setoguchi made 4-1 at the 16:11 mark following a neutral-zone turnover — one of 20 in the game by the Ducks.

Giguere sprinkled in some beauties among his 33 saves, getting the start after Jonas Hiller won the night before in Vancouver. Ryan Getzlaf scored 34 seconds into the final period, taking a nice passto completea breakaway strike with the Ducks skating 5-on-4.

If you’re close to a radio, go catch me on 830-AM for the postgame “Duck Calls” show with Josh Brewster.