Rangers vs. Ducks
THE STORY: Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu put on a disappointing showing in front of the home fans in Helsinki, Finland, on Friday. Maybe a more hostile environment in Sweden will spark their production. Selanne and Koivu combined for a minus-2 in 38 shifts as the Ducks dropped their season-opener to the Buffalo Sabres, 4-1. The New York Rangers started out in Stockholm on Friday, setting up goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in front of his native fans. A costly mistake in overtime caused Lundqvist and the Rangers to come out on the wrong end against the Los Angeles Kings. The Ducks will try to make it off European soil with at least one point when they take on Lundqvist and New York in Stockholm on Saturday.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, Versus, TSN
ABOUT THE RANGERS (0-0-1): New York’s big free agent acquisition, Brad Richards, picked up his first point with an assist on Friday. A crucial tripping penalty in overtime thinned the defense in front of Lundqvist, who could not stop the decisive goal in a 3-2 setback. The Rangers’ other big offensive free agent, Wojtek Wolski, did not get a shot off in 10 shifts.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (0-1-0): Selanne and Koivu were the headliners in Helsinki but it came down to goaltender Jonas Hiller, who is still shaking off the rust after missing the back half of last season with vertigo symptoms. Hiller allowed three goals to go between his legs in the loss to the Sabres.
OVERTIME:
1 Lundqvist is 2-2-0 in his career against the Ducks with 12 goals allowed in 238 total minutes.
2. Richards scored seven points in five games against Anaheim in 2010-11.
3. The Ducks took the lone meeting between the teams last season, 5-2, behind three points apiece from Corey Perry and Lubomir Visnovsky. Lundqvist surrendered all five goals.