Teemu Selanne

Chris Pronger was 16 seconds away from enjoying a Flyers victory on his 35th birthday in his first game against the Ducks since they traded him in June. Teemu Selanne spoiled it all for his former teammate. Selanne's second goal of the game tied the score in regulation, and he had the only goal in a shootout to lift the Ducks to a 3-2 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night. "He comes in so fast on the goalie and changes the angle so quickly that it's hard for the goalie to react," Pronger said.

The Ducks remain very interested in bringing Teemu Selanne back into the fold provided that the superstar forward is serious about returning to hockey. Selanne has begun a skating program at Anaheim Ice to determine whether he is mentally up to playing again as he kept open that possibility by not filing retirement paperwork with the NHL. The 37-year-old winger and 10-time All-Star, who has 540 goals, has reportedly said that he would make a decision this month.

Teemu Selanne said the only reason he has not retired is because he believes the Ducks have the pieces in place to win a second consecutive Stanley Cup and is trying to decide if he wants to be part of that. "Every time I come to the games, I get really excited," he said before attending Monday night's home game against Nashville. "But when I go home, it's with mixed feelings."

Teemu Selanne gave the strongest indication yet that he may come out of semi-retirement when he said Friday there's a "very good chance" he'll return to play for the Ducks. Selanne insisted he would not make a final decision until he talks with General Manager Brian Burke next week, but the 10-time All-Star forward admitted he is leaning in a certain direction. "It could happen. I'm leaning one way. I'm not going to say which way," Selanne said.

Teemu Selanne couldn't stay out of the spotlight after all. Selanne put off his retirement for a few months at least as he signed a contract Monday to play the remainder of the season with the Ducks in the hope that he can help the team repeat as Stanley Cup champion. "It's almost like I didn't miss a day when I stepped on the ice," Selanne joked at a news conference in the Honda Center after his first practice with the team.

PHILADELPHIA -- Teemu Selanne's brief training camp is over. Now it's up to Coach Randy Carlyle to let him suit up. One week after he announced his intention to return to the Ducks, Selanne pronounced himself available for tonight's game against the New York Islanders following an early practice session Monday at Wachovia Center. "You've got to ask the coach," Selanne said. "I'm ready to go. It's totally in his court. . . . I'm excited. Very excited."

Teemu Selanne did his best to shrug off the moment even if everyone around him made a big deal about it during the game and afterward. A four-goal outburst by the Ducks in the second period was enough in a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Sunday night at the Honda Center, but it was an assist by Selanne that drew all the attention as he became the franchise's all-time leading scorer.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Ducks are peaking for the playoffs, defenseman Sean O'Donnell was saying before Saturday's game with the Coyotes, and the key to succeeding in the postseason is taking adversity in stride. "There isn't a situation that we'll come across that we haven't faced before," he said. Well, maybe one. Saturday night the Ducks took the ice without Jean-Sebastien Giguere, the NHL's second-stingiest goaltender, and Ryan Getzlaf, their leading scorer.

On the night the Ducks clinched their third consecutive playoff appearance, Teemu Selanne took a mental note of what was said by his teammates in the aftermath. Nothing. "I didn't hear anybody say a word about that," Selanne said. "That's a good sign. For myself, going through all those years where we didn't really have a good team, you really appreciate the times when you have this kind of team and situation that we have here." The Ducks are enjoying unprecedented success on the ice.

Teemu Selanne didn't come back from retirement to lose in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He didn't give up playing golf and bonding with his newborn daughter to stumble through a succession of frustrating defeats and a rude dismissal at the hands of the Dallas Stars. The Finnish right wing played Friday as if he wanted to win. And for the first time in five games, so did the rest of the Ducks.