Currently: - Game info: 10:30 pm EST Fri Dec 19, 2003
- TV: CTV, FSW2
Paul Kariya’s wrist injury is going to prevent the main attraction from taking place Friday at the Arrowhead Pond.
While Teemu Selanne will return to Anaheim for the first time in a Colorado Avalanche uniform, Kariya will not play against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks when the teams meet for the second time this season.
Kariya spent his first nine NHL seasons with the Mighty Ducks, serving as team captain from 1996-2003. He holds virtually every offensive team record, including goals (300), assists (369), points (669) and games played (606).
It came as a shock to the Mighty Ducks and the rest of the NHL when Kariya decided to take less money from the Avalanche so he could play with good friend Teemu Selanne on the same team again. Kariya’s one-year, $1.2 million contract keeps him under the league average and allows him to be a free agent again next year.
Selanne and Kariya had been friends since they first met as teammates with Anaheim in 1996, and played five seasons together before Selanne was traded to San Jose in 2001.
Friday was expected to be Kariya and Selanne’s first game in Anaheim as Avalanche teammates, but Kariya hasn’t played since spraining his right wrist against Dallas on Nov. 15. Colorado’s next scheduled game at Anaheim is Jan. 30.
The Avalanche have been playing very well without Kariya, but had an eight-game unbeaten streak snapped Wednesday with a 3-2 loss to Minnesota.
Captain Joe Sakic scored twice for Colorado, 4-1-4 in its last nine, but winless in three (0-1-2).
“I think we were very flat and you can’t play like that, no matter who you are playing,” Avalanche coach Tony Granato said. “No matter when it is in the season, you can’t come out and get caught flat like that.”
Sakic has six goals and 11 assists in his last 11 games and is among the NHL leaders with 34 points.
Anaheim lost for the fifth time in seven games Sunday, 3-2 to Edmonton.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere, last season’s playoff MVP, had his personal winless streak extended to seven (0-5-2). Giguere got the start after a three-game benching.
“It felt better than the last two I played,” Giguere said. “There were a lot of positives in my game and I was seeing the puck a little bit better, but in the end, a loss is a loss.”
Two of Anaheim’s top defensemen—Keith Carney and Sandis Ozolinsh—could return Friday. Carney has sat out two games with back spasms while Ozolinsh has missed four with bruised ribs.
STANDINGS (through Dec. 17): Avalanche - 38 points, 2nd place, 3 PB, Northwest Division. Mighty Ducks - 29 points, 4th place (tied), 7 PB, Pacific Division.
TEAM LEADERS: Avalanche - Milan Hejduk, 15 goals; Alex Tanguay, 26 assists and 35 points; Jim Cummins, 64 PIM. Mighty Ducks - Sergei Fedorov and Petr Sykora, 10 goals; Fedorov, 13 assists and 23 points; Todd Simpson, 77 PIM.
SPECIAL TEAMS (through Dec. 17): Avalanche - Power play: 22.5 percent (29 for 129), 4th in NHL. Penalty killing: 86.2 percent (112 for 130), 8th. Mighty Ducks - Power play: 16.5 percent (20 for 121), 10th. Penalty killing: 83.7 percent (108 for 129), 20th.
GOALTENDERS: Avalanche - David Aebischer (14-5-4, 2 SO, 2.12 GAA); Philippe Sauve (2-4-1, 2.35). Mighty Ducks - Giguere (4-13-2, 2.91); Martin Gerber (6-4-2, 2, 2.12).
SEASON SERIES: Avalanche, 1-0.
LAST MEETING: Nov. 18; Avalanche, 2-1, OT. At Denver, Selanne scored with 1:49 left in overtime to beat his former team.
ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Avalanche - 7-2-3-1 on the road; Mighty Ducks - 7-4-2-2 at home.
Team Comparison
Blog Coverage from SB Nation
Mile High Hockey
Anaheim CallingInjuries
Steve Downie RW, Ryan Wilson D
No Injuries
