ANAHEIM — More than 17,000 people will be thrilled to be watching Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals at the Honda Center.
Chris Kunitz quite clearly will not be one of them.
Kunitz, who under normal circumstances would be playing on the Ducks’ first line with Teemu Selanne and Andy McDonald, will be a reluctant spectator as the Finals begin, having broken a bone in his right hand during the first game of Anaheim’s conference final series with Detroit.
He had surgery to fix the break on May 15, and while he holds out some hope he might be able to return in the later stages of the series, it’s clearly a long shot. He’s now out of the bulky, awkward soft cast he wore after the initial surgery, but only in the earliest stages of rehab.
“I still can’t touch all my fingers with my thumb, and some of them don’t bend that well,� he said Sunday. “It’s an ongoing thing. I’ve never had an injury like this before … You can’t do some of the things you normally do, like picking up a fork. So it’s kind of tough to rehab.
“Hopefully I’ll see progress and make it worthwhile. I know I’m sitting out for a reason.�
Rehab, at this point, merely involves squeezing a rubber ball or doing some exercises with a rubber band, so he’s clearly a long way from being able to grip a hockey stick.
“It’s two weeks Tuesday … I’ll take it one step at a time and see how it goes.�
In the meantime, Kunitz is simply watching patiently. Sure he is.
“Yeah, the games are real easy to watch,� he jokes. “… Here, I just stay underneath and watch on TV. I might try to go sit in one of the boxes.�
Then again, he might not. He’s not a relaxed spectator.
“I pace, and jump up and down and yell and scream and kick,� he said. “Everything like I’m still playing. It’s actually one of the hardest things I’ve had to do, to watch your teammates go through something you want to be a part of. …
“Hopefully the team can get through it, and I can make it back if it goes that long. If not, I’ll just try to be a part of it.�
The injury was a freakish one, as Kunitz was hit by a shot from teammate Ryan Getzlaf, and somehow suffered the break despite his padded hockey gloves. No one can quite explain why, and the Ducks training staff has told Kunitz they’ve never seen an injury like it.
“Just a bad, freak accident,� he said.
There will be one long-term result: Kunitz will change to a different brand of gloves next year.
“Yeah,� he says, laughing a bit ruefully. “I believe so.�

ANAHEIM — Odds and ends from the Ducks’ preparations for the Stanley Cup Finals:

-- Coach Randy Carlyle gave his players two days off after the conference final with Detroit, and was asked how he spent the time.
“I had to clean my garage,� he said. “My wife told me that’s what I had to do.
“I wear the pants in the family but can’t see them through the apron.�

-- Teemu Selanne said friend and former teammate Paul Kariya had tried to call him since the Ducks had reached the final, but the two had yet to actually talk.
“I was busy,� Selanne, a noted golf fanatic, said evasively. “But I’m going to talk to him. When I call him, he’s surfing.�
And when he called you, someone suggested, you were in the sand.
“Not the sand,� Selanne said, smiling. “Maybe the bunker.�
Oh, and if Kariya is calling for tickets, Selanne said he’s out of luck. “There’s no tickets available.�

-- That, by the way, is the general message for fans, as well. Only about a thousand tickets were available for each of the four possible games at the Honda Center. They went on sale Saturday morning at 10 a.m. By 10:10, they were gone, according to Ducks media relations director Alex Gilchrist.

-- Much has been and will be made of the fact that the Ducks and Senators did not play this season, because of the league’s absurd scheduling policies. Their last meeting was Jan. 19, 2006, when Anaheim won by shootout, 4-3, in Ottawa. The Senators won 3-0 in their last appearance in Anaheim, on Oct. 17, 2003.
Despite this, Selanne is one of several players who doesn’t believe it will take some time to get into the series, as some commentators have suggested.
So just how long will it take?
“Twenty seconds,� he said. “We’re going to be ready right away. … Obviously, we didn’t play against them, that’s the only thing. But everything starts right away.�

ANAHEIM — Mike Scioscia deserves a lot of respect for what he’s done as a manager.
He deserves even more for what he does as a father.
In the latest illustration, Scioscia will miss the Angels’ games against the Yankees next Saturday and Sunday in New York to attend the Saturday graduation of his son Matt, a senior at Crespi High in Encino.
“Your family is always the priority,� Scioscia said, “but believe me, it’s never easy to leave the game or not be there.
“If it wasn’t for something like this, I wouldn’t do it. But your son graduates high school one time.
“At least, we hope it’s one time,� he joked. “We haven’t gotten his final grades.�
Scioscia has continued to live in Westlake Village, despite the commuting grind that creates for 81 home games in Anaheim, in no small part because Matt and daughter Taylor like where they live and the schools they attend.
Despite the demands of the job, he’s actively involved in the lives of his kids to the greatest possible extent. He’s managed to see a couple of Matt’s baseball games this season, no small feat when he’s got his own team playing all over the county. And the interest in his kids extends to their friends, as well. When I mentioned I’d covered a Thousand Oaks High baseball game on Friday, Scioscia knowledgably and enthusiastically talked about several players on the Lancers, noting, “Those are the kids Matt grew up with.�
Matt, a quality athlete in his own right, will attend Notre Dame on a baseball scholarship next year, and is likely to walk on with the football team as a long snapper, since that’s something he’s done previously at Crespi.

ANAHEIM — Jered Weaver is just about back to where he wants to be.
Weaver went 6 2/3 innings Saturday for his first home win this season, evening his record at 3-3, as the Angels continued to beat the Dodgers like a drum in Anaheim. The 6-2 victory gave them a 13-3 record against Los Angels of Los Angeles at home.
Weaver struck out six, walked two and allowed five hits in putting together his best back-to-back appearances this year. In his previous outing, Monday at Texas, he gave up one run and six hits in seven innings, striking out five and walking two. Those two games have taken his ERA from 4.26 to 3.46.
“Everything’s coming along pretty good,� said Weaver. “Every start’s getting a little better as far as arm strength goes and mechanically goes.�
Weaver had started 1-3 after much of spring training and the start of the regular season with biceps tendonitis.
“I think the first three or four starts I was feeling the timing thing wasn’t quite there,� he said.
“I think my last start was where I need to be, and I tried to carry it over to this start, and for the most part did.�
In terms of mechanics, he said, keys are “a consistent arm slot, and obviously there’s a lot going on with my delivery� — in the wind-up, he basically turns his back to the plate — “so timing is always an issue. The timing thing’s good, and the arm strength is getting there.�
After giving up an RBI single to Andre Ethier with two outs in the fourth, Weaver retired nine straight batters before Mike Lieberthal doubled with two outs in the seventh, prompting manager Mike Scioscia to turn the game over to Scot Shields and, in the ninth, Francisco Rodriguez.
“He wasn’t quite as crisp,� said Scioscia. “He made some pitches in some counts to get outs. But I think he had to work harder for outs, and I think he was getting a little bit tired. …
“He was behind in more counts as the innings got a little deeper, but he managed to get back into counts and get out of it.�
Weaver ended up throwing 106 pitches, 67 for strikes. That was significantly more than in the game at Texas, when he needed 87 pitches for seven innings, but less than in his previous three starts, when he threw between 107 and 112 pitches.
It was Weaver’s first start against the Dodgers, the team he rooted for while growing up in Simi Valley.
“To be throwing against them was something special,� he said. “I think before the game, it was kind of weird to me. But once I got in between the lines, you never really think about anything except attacking the zone.�

Odd play: One of the hits Weaver gave up was a bunt single by Rafael Furcal, but not an ordinary bunt single. This one was more of a blooper that fell onto the grass in shallow left field.
“I guess he’s pretty good at that,� Weaver said, laughing when asked if he’d given up many bunts to the outfield. “(Robb) Quinlan talked to him at first base, and he said he had about eight doubles on that last year. So, he’s pretty good with that touch, for sure.�

Red is an Angel color, after all: Scioscia was surprised, and clearly embarrassed, by a pregame video tribute (to the tune of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way�) marking his recent feat of passing Bill Rigney for the most career wins by an Angel manager. He gave something of a sheepish wave from the dugout as the crowd of 44,380 — a regular-season record for the current configuration of Angel Stadium — applauded, but never came up the steps for a true curtain call.
“I was turning about four shades of red,� he said, admitting he hadn’t seen the entire video. “I was in and out. I’ll get a copy of it.
“I didn’t know. I thought it was just a little thing on the board, and then the video started, and a guy came on that I didn’t really recognize,� he said, referring to footage from his career as a Dodger catcher. “He’s long gone.�

ANAHEIM — Meanwhile, on the other side of the 57 Freeway, at Angels Stadium ...

Something’s wrong with Angels reliever Justin Speier, but don’t ask manager Mike Scioscia what it is.
That’s not to say he doesn’t know. It’s just to say he doesn’t want to be asked, because he can’t say.
Speier was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with “a non-baseball related medical condition,� according to an Angels press release. Speier — who was not at Tuesday night’s game with Cleveland — told reporters on Sunday that he was suffering from the flu, but that doesn’t often send players to the DL.
“It didn’t seem like he was going to be able to pitch in this series,� said Scioscia, “and it’s already been eight days since he pitched, so we’ll take it one day at a time.�
As reporters probed for more details — this is, after all, something out of the ordinary, and that prompts people to ask questions — Scioscia at one point said Speier was suffering from “something viral,� but then backtracked: “I can’t even say that, or I’ll get in trouble.�
The problem is not that Scioscia wants to be mysterious, or misleading, or uninformative. He’s hamstrung by privacy laws, and if that creates an enormous void ripe for rumor and speculation — as someone pointed out, in the absence of facts, some people will immediately assume the worst — well, that’s the way it is.
“It’s a non-baseball-related injury, that’s all I can say,� Scioscia said. “If you guys will pay my fine, ante up and I’ll tell you. …
“This is a legal agreement that’s been made, and it goes past Major League Baseball. It’s with doctor-patient confidentiality, and that’s all we can say. The way I understand it, a player has to sign a waiver if he wants to disclose what it is.�
Kind of makes the old hockey thing about “upper-body injuries� and “lower-body injuries� look downright informative. But somewhere, a bunch of lawyers are thrilled.

ANAHEIM — ANAHEIM — After the Ducks’ practice Tuesday, their last session before a Wednesday morning flight to Detroit for the Western Conference Finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs, someone asked coach Randy Carlyle what defenseman Kent Huskins has given the team.
“He just hit the coach today with a puck,� Carlyle said. “That’s what he gave me. He gave me a big welt. And I’m not happy.�
Carlyle’s listeners laughed, and he smiled — a little bit — when asked if Huskins’ ice time would suffer as a result.
“No, you have to take your personal feelings and set them aside this time of the year,� he said.
Someone asked: Has he got a big shot?
“Well, he’s got an inaccurate shot,� Carlyle said. “That may be the best way to describe it. Or maybe it was accurate.�
Carlyle said he had suffered a “lower body injury� — a joking reference to the hockey tradition of being as vague as possible about physical problems — and declared he was day to day. At the end of his media session, he excused himself.
“I’m off to get an ice bag,� he said.

Stick it to him: Teemu Selanne — victimized by an illegal-stick penalty earlier this year instigated by former Ducks coach Ron Wilson — was asked if he’d be sending Wilson an autographed stick as a souvenir of the conference finals.
“You know, I have both,� Selanne said, laughing. “I have legal or illegal ones. It depends what he wants.�
And that the Ducks are in the conference finals, while San Jose is on vacation after blowing a 2-1 series lead?
“It’s karma,� he said, smiling.

If you want to give Andrew Bynum a Shaquille O’Neal-style nickname, call him “The Big Bargaining Chip.�
He’s probably the most tradeable player the Lakers have on their roster, given his great potential and small salary. That doesn’t mean the Lakers want to trade him, but if they want to remake the roster, they might have to
“I’ve never really thought about going somewhere else,� Bynum said Friday. “Right now, I want to be a Laker. I’m here, and as far as I know, they like me and they want to keep me. …
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. I just hope to see my face on the team next year.�
Whether the Lakers want to or not, they’re almost certainly going to have to weigh the risks and rewards of trading him, in light of Kobe Bryant’s demand for changes “now� and the team’s expressed desire to address that demand, if at all possible.
“It’s a matter of understanding what Andrew can bring to us,� said Phil Jackson. “Can he contribute to a championship basketball team? Maybe. Maybe his development from year one to year two, his development from year two to year three is going to be as great. … Maybe he can average 12 to 14 points as a player next year. That’s up to Andrew. …
“We’re going to watch his summer growth. We are going to have great input in what he does this summer and watch him carefully, and hope his development increases as much as it did from year one to year two.�
Bynum said Friday that his goal is to be an all-star player by his fourth year in the NBA, leaving him two years to reach that level.
“I think that’s possible for me to do,� he said. “It depends how much you want to work. I’m willing to work hard this summer, I’m willing to sacrifice this summer to get there.�
Bynum may be in a hurry, but the Lakers are trying not to be.
“We have to be patient with him,� said Jackson, “we have to understand that he still made large strides as a player this year, and we have to really encourage him to continue to work toward that future that he hopes to have, and we hope he has.�
Bynum said the off-season would be devoted to strengthening his lower body and developing as a runner, “learning how to get up and down ahead of the basketball.
“Being able to be ahead of the basketball is big for a big guy, offensively and defensively. Being able to get back on defense and protect the paint is something we really got killed at this year, is points in the paint.
“So those are the biggest two things I’m going to work on — being able to get up and down the court quicker than the basketball. And, as far as my blocking game goes, I’ve been studying with the legend, Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) and I think I’m going to keep doing that.�
It figures to be a while before we know how successful Bynum is in improving those aspects of his game — or whether the Lakers are the team that will benefit from his off-season efforts.

While much of the attention, understandably, is on the future — particularly in light of Kobe Bryant’s demand for immediate change — it’s worth noting the Lakers are still trying to figure out the immediate past, which is to say why things went as wrong as they did down the stretch this season.
At Friday’s exit-interview media sessions, general manager Mitch Kupchak said there had been some unexpected threads running through the two days of player interviews, though he declined to elaborate.
“I won’t share that with you,� he said, “other than the fact that we did not play as a team. … What we did the first three months of the season, it was almost as if that never happened. It was not the same team.
“I’ve got some indications as to why that happened, and hopefully I’ll get more the next day or two, but I would not share that with you.�
Injuries were part of the team’s decline, of course, but as Kupchak and Phil Jackson both made clear, that was not the entire story.
“At the end of the season, even though we got back to a point where injury-wise, we were relatively healthy,� said Kupchak, “… we didn’t come back and play the same type of basketball we did earlier in the season. …
“We did not have the same trust, the same chemistry.�
Said Jackson, “(Injuries) took away the heart of our team, but that’s not a reason for why we played the way we played at the end of the year. Our team kind of became disbanded … disenchanted with the style we played earlier in the year, and never reclaimed that.�
Jackson said some of that was a failure of leadership — from him, Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom.
“There’s some discrepancies in the team’s ability to handle adversity and survive injuries,� Jackson said, “and being able to shepherd them through that was probably something I didn’t do a good enough job at.�
Bryant’s issue, he noted, is that “the intensity he brings to the game is sometimes not a level that he can live up to. And I think that frustration is, more than anything else, one of the reasons our team didn’t survive and flourish even though we had injuries and guys came back at the end of the year.
“I think that’s the disrupting element, is that guys didn’t work hard enough, and we had some disruptive elements. There was some selfishness that came along with it, and the ultimate responsibility lies with me and with our leadership … and the leadership includes Kobe and Lamar.�
Jackson also felt ongoing physical issues — his recovery from preseason surgery on his right hip, and a troublesome left hip likely to require similar treatment — kept him from being as forceful in practices as he would have liked.
“I felt this group of young men took advantage of me in situations where I wasn’t on the court and as aggressive as I could be,� he said. “Some of it I was coaching from the sidelines, having to sit through some of the practice due to some of the limitations I had, and that irritated me.
“I think if you’re there and physically you can be on the court, confronting in situations, that’s important. Down the court, where things are happening that are incorrect, you can change that, and I think you can make impressions as a coach. That’s one of the things that I’d like to have back.�
If there were larger issues of cohesiveness and team unity — and Lamar Odom, for one, certainly suggested that there were, Smush Parker may well have been in the middle of them.
Parker’s own comments— after an exit interview that really was an exit interview, given Jackson’s statement that he almost certainly won’t be back — suggested the coach may have seen him at fault in this area.
“Phil Jackson talked about how I could have been more outgoing,� Parker said, “but that’s just not in my personality. I could have done some things better to kind of made my relationship with my teammates stronger, but like I said to Phil Jackson, I’m a loner, I like to be by myself, and I’m very observant and I’m quiet. So I like to be standoffish at times.
“At times, a trait like that isn’t so good when you’re trying to build a team and build relationships between teammates.�
Whatever went wrong, it’s in the past now. And given the likelihood of a significantly retooled roster for next year, any chemistry issues that existed this year aren’t likely to linger into next season.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be new problems in meshing the roster, as Jackson noted, whether or not some big-name impact player arrives. Considering some of the speculation about changes, he said, “you can do all those machinations, and that just doesn’t work out in this game. That’s not what makes teams. As we’ve seen with Golden State, sometimes the most unlikely combinations can play with energy, and that’s the bond that creates the situation that makes chemistry in basketball unique and wonderful to watch. …
“That’s what we have to do as a staff, both coaching-wise and personnel-wise, is find who can match each other’s intensity and character to make this chemistry the right thing.�

Since you're going to be hearing and reading a lot about this, I thought I'd post the complete transcript of Kobe Bryant's media session Friday after his season-ending exit interview with Phil Jackson and Mitch Kupchak. For the record, some of the questions are paraphrased — they were asked too far from my tape recorder to be picked up by the microphone — but the answers are verbatim.

Question: After the loss, you voiced some frustration. What do you want to see happen?
Answer: I just told them, this summer’s about getting us on an elite level, doing whatever it takes to make it happen.
I mean, this is a competitive city. We’re used to winning titles, not just winning games or getting in the first round. We want to win championships. I just reiterated what I said. Now’s the time.

Q: You’re still angry?
A: Of course.

Q: When you re-signed here, one of the things you talked about was that track record of success. How much confidence do you have you won’t be at ground zero at this time next year?
A: Well, you know, I just voiced my opinion. Now they’ve got to go out there and do the best that they can to try to make it happen. That’s one of the things when I re-signed here — they promised that they would build a contender, and build a contender now. I don’t want to have to wait more than I already have.

Q: With the team over the salary cap, a major move would have to be via a trade. You think it could happen that way?
A: I don’t know. I just voiced my opinion. Now it’s on them to do their job and go out and try to make something happen.

Q: Do you think Mitch understands your frustration?
A: I’m sure he understands. I’m sure he understands the patience running thin in myself and coach. We want to be able to contend. I’m sure he understands that.

Q: Regardless of how it’s done, how do you want to see this team get better?
A: It depends what’s out there. We obviously have to improve in a myriad of areas. It depends what we can get done, as many areas as we have to improve in.

Q: What do you see as the window of opportunity for you?
A: Obviously, there’s a window. But I feel fine physically. I still eat like crap. So the important thing to me is winning now. It’s not waiting on this, that and the other. We’ve had a season we missed the playoffs. We got bounced the first round of the playoffs both seasons, gotten to the playoffs the next-to-last game of the regular season. That’s enough of that.

Q: What would help satisfy it next season? A trip to the West Finals, is that enough of a starting point?
A: I don’t play for anything but championships. I want to get in the pocket with this city, where we believe going into the season that we have a shot at winning this whole thing.

Q: Do you think it takes a bold stroke at this point? Is it something minor adjustments can do?
A: I don’t know. That’s on them to decide. I don’t know.

Q: You can opt out in two years. Is that something that’s possible?
A: What, me opting out in two years?
I don’t know. You know, I’ve been a Laker fan my whole life. I hate to even think about going someplace else.

Q: Say nothing is done. Can you guys make strides internally, with the young guys you have?
A: No. Something has to be done. We can’t be in the same situation again next year.

Q: Sometimes it’s not that you lose, it’s how you lose. What disappointed you the most about the losses this year?
A: Well, it was a rollercoaster season, and I felt like the guys really gave it their best effort, and I feel like they really tried. It was a very difficult season with injury, and new guys being thrown into the rotation, trying to learn on the fly and things of that nature. It was very difficult. I feel like they gave it their best shot.
You just live and learn, and try to move on from that. But I think the guys gave it their best effort.

Q: Is the triangle offense just two complicated for this particular group?
A: You know, it’s funny. This year, we played the Spurs and Rob (Horry) and I had a chance to talk a little bit.
He said, “How’s it going?�
I said, “Well, what do you think?�
He said, “It looks like you guys are kind of running the Bermuda Triangle.� (laughter)
I said, “Well, the guys are kind of struggling with it a little bit.� And he just kind of looked at me.
It’s just basketball, you know what I mean? But I feel like the players that we had here — maybe you take for granted the intellect, the savvy, the IQ, the things that they had, and the character. It’s about finding players that fit that mold.

Q: It sounds like the coach was frustrated as well. Do you talk to him about that?
A: Phil and I talk quite a bit, quite a bit. During the playoffs we talked quite a bit, during the summer we’ll talk quite a bit. I think we kind of soothe each other a little bit.
It’s tough.

Q: [Unintelligible question about Jackson]
A: Oh, absolutely, absolutely. The thing about Coach is you know his style. You know the way he coaches, and it’s proved to be effective, winning championships. So now it’s just about getting players that can play for him, and are willing to play for him. If we do that, we’ll be OK.

Q: How much does it help to know you’re on the same page?
A: Well, it helps a lot, because like I said, we kind of soothe each other, and just talk to one another. He does such a great job of just staying in the moment and dealing with the situation as it is. It’s great to have that relationship. It will definitely help us out this summer.

Q: How much have you expressed to Mitch or Dr. Buss before this about your frustration?
A: Well, it’s three years. I know my patience is about as short as my 1-year-old daughter, you know. After, during, and before the end of the season three seasons ago, and here we are three years later. My patience is really on E, so we’ve got to really put our pedal to the metal here and try and do something.

Q: When you’ve talked to Mitch and Dr. Buss, have you got a sense from them that they heard you and were feeling the same way?
A: Yeah, well, you know Dr. Buss, he’s very passionate and wants to win. He’s the most successful owner, so he’s going to do whatever it takes to make it happen. Now’s the time to get it done.

Q: Were those conversations reassuring?
A: Yeah, yeah, they were. Right now, I just want to see things done. I don’t want to be reassured, or feel confident, none of that. I just want to see it get done.

Q: Is one of the problems as far as trades are concerned that other teams might not want to have hardly anybody that’s on this team besides you?
A: You know, nobody cared when I was getting triple-teamed and I had five points in the fourth quarter. They want to see it get done, you know what I mean? You’ve got to figure it out.
It’s my job to go out there and play the game and not make excuses and try and get results. And, you know, we’ve just got to figure it out?

Q: It sounds like you want to see a major deal. To make a major deal, either you or Lamar would have to be traded.
A: You know what? I don’t play GM, so I don’t know who has to go, who has to stay.
Lamar, he’s a phenomenal player. He played hurt pretty much the entire the second half of the season, from the knee to the shoulder to the elbow, I mean, he was really struggling. But he played extremely well.
So I’m not here saying he has to go or this player has to go. I’m not saying that at all. What I’m saying is I want to be on a championship contender. And hopefully they can figure something out to make that happen.

Q: You thrive on challenges. But is this situation beyond what you would consider a challenge?
A: Well, this summer what I’m going to do is just do what I always do, and that’s focus on becoming a better basketball player. So when I leave here, I won’t think about this any more. I’ll just think about getting healthy, and getting ready, and going and joining the USA basketball team.
When I come back to camp, hopefully we’ll have a contender.

Q: Do you feel a situation like this has helped you grow as a leader?
A: Oh, definitely. Definitely. Because it’s one thing to lead when everything’s going right. It’s another thing when you’ve got adversity and you’re struggling, and that’s when you’re really, really tested as a leader to keep the ship going.

Q: What did Mitch tell you today about this issue?
A: He just said that they’re going to do the best that they can.

Q: Did that help to hear that?
A: It doesn’t matter to me. We’ve just got to get a contender, man, you know what I’m saying? I just want to see it get done.

Q: Sounds like you’re in a ‘show me, don’t tell me’ stage.
A: Yeah. Oh definitely. We’ve been struggling here for three years, and I just don’t want to hear it any more. I just want to see things get done.
I’m sure the city’s in the same pocket.

ANAHEIM — Another great example of why playoff hockey is the greatest drama in team sports tonight, as the Ducks thoroughly and completely outplayed Vancouver — but, because of stellar play by Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, needed until 4:30 of the second overtime to win 2-1 and advance to the conference finals.

The Ducks — who clearly are now the most successful franchise in the region, a subject I'll probably write on soon — will probably have a week off before playing the winner of the Detroit-San Jose series, tied at 2-2.

Because the game finished, barely, in time for me to make deadlines, I didn't have to use the just-in-case column I'd written on the recent travails of Ducks forward Teemu Selanne. So I'll pass it along here:

ANAHEIM — Surprisingly, when Teemu Selanne skated onto the ice Thursday for Game 5 of the Ducks’ playoff series with Vancouver, he had neither a dark cloud hovering above him nor a bull’s eye anywhere on his body.
If there’s a Ducks player for whom the playoffs have brought at least as much pain as pleasure, it would be Selanne.
He’s been cut at least once in each of the previous five playoff games by high sticks, including one wielded by teammate Chris Pronger. He’s been hit by a puck shot by a teammate in pregame warm-ups.at least three times by high sticks, once by the stick of teammate Chris Pronger. He’s been hit by a puck shot by a teammate in warm-ups.
“Usually, the luck runs in threes, they say,� noted teammate Chris Kunitz, “but he’s been hit with a few more than that.�
Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere is sympathetic. He gets hit by pucks on a regular basis, after all, though his equipment does a little better job of protecting him from cuts and bruises.
“It all started last year at the Olympics when he lost a few teeth,� Giguere said. “And it’s been going on since then. The good thing is he’s wearing a visor, so hopefully that’s helping.�
Not enough, clearly. By the end of Tuesday’s Game 4 in Vancouver, Selanne looked like a guy who had inadvertently walked into the middle of an Ultimate Fighting competition, if not a barroom brawl.
Courtesy of the errant stick of the Canucks’ Josh Green, Selanne added to his collection of stitches, which has reached at least 25 (an exact figure is not available because at least once, the doctor involved lost count). He also sported a bruise on his right-jaw which made it look as if someone had implanted one of the golf balls he likes to strike away from the rink.
“Teemu’s certainly had his fair share of the negative side of accidental high sticks, pucks, whatever you want to call it,� said coach Randy Carlyle. The run of bad luck was enough to convince Carlyle to excuse Selanne from the team’s meeting and light workout Wednesday afternoon, less than 12 hours after its 4:30 a.m. return from British Columbia. The coach didn’t come out and say he was afraid Selanne might get hit by a runaway equipment cart, if not a falling anvil, but clearly preservation and healing of the team’s leading scorer was on his mind.
“I just felt that what happened in the two games, the number of stick-related incidents that have happened,� said Carlyle, “he’d be better off staying away from the rink today. …

“Maybe he’s just going to spend the time just laying around. In a situation like this, where maybe his body feels a little beat up, it’s better for you to just lay around and do what you want to do and forget about the game.�
Since Selanne has come through this vast right- (and left-) wing conspiracy of physical abuse with no major injuries, it is, according to all standards of locker room humor, a cause for ribbing.
“I guess his modeling career will be put on hold,� Carlyle said, to the surprise of Giguere.
“I don’t think he had a modeling career,� said the goalie, then reconsidered: “Some women like the rugged men like that.�
Selanne himself isn’t so sure: “Good thing I’m already married,� he told a TV interviewer Tuesday night.
Jokes, of course, aren’t the first reaction each time Selanne has gone down and a Ducks trainer has come sliding onto the ice.
“Until you know he’s OK,� says Kunitz, “you don’t want to say anything. He’s obviously a vital part of our team … so any time he gets injured or goes down, it’s pretty scary for most of us.�
The irony, of course, is that Selanne isn’t exactly the first guy who’d come to mind in employing the word “rugged.� His reputation is more as a speed and finesse player, although all his recent bloodshed illustrates that isn’t a fully formed image.
“He’s not afraid to get his nose dirty,� says Giguere. “He goes in the corner, finishes his check, gets in front of the net. That’s how you score so many goals, you know, and every once in a while, you’re going to get a stick in the face. It’s a testament to his work ethic.�
And, perhaps, his pain threshold. After all, it was well after Selanne’s latest close encounter with the business end of a stick that he scored the tying goal in Game 4, part of a comeback that took the Ducks from a 2-0 deficit to a 3-2 overtime win.
“Big-time players have the ability to find ways (to score),� said Carlyle.
A few stitches aren’t going to negate that ability.
“It’s all about his passion for the game,� says the coach. “He’s played a lot of years and scored a lot of big goals. For him, it’s all about the enjoyment he’s gotten out of it. He’s enjoying the playoffs.�
Well, other than the part involving bleeding.