Selänne one victory away from lifelong dream

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The Anaheim Ducks are just one win away from seizing the coveted Stanley Cup trophy. On Monday, their finalist opponents the Ottawa Senators took a 2-3 beating in their own Scotiabank Place, which means Anaheim now has a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven final series of the NHL, ahead of tonight's match in California.
      Finland’s Teemu Selänne played a crucial role in the fourth game by assisting Dustin Penner in the winning goal after 15 minutes of the third period.
      In the play-offs points Selänne is now in seventh place with 5 goals and 10 assists.
      "Teemu has played magnificently the whole season and has exhibited excellent leadership skills in the play-offs. He has given a moral boost to the whole team", praised Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle, who also happens to be Selänne’s former Winnipeg Jets teammate.
     
The star of the latest game was Andy McDonald, who usually plays as the centre in the Selänne tag-team. McDonald scored Anaheim’s first two goals and collected an assist point from the third one as well.
      "In the first period we simply sucked, but the following 40 minutes we played at the level we are accustomed to", Selänne commented on the fourth game. "We gave ourselves the chance to do something great. Now we have a chance to go home and finish the series. I am proud that we have made it this far."
      "For 15 years after winning the Finnish Championship in the Jokerit line-up I have dreamed of winning something, and to win the Stanley Cup is the greatest of them all. But best not to get ahead of ourselves. There is still a lot of work to be done", Selänne went on.
     
The Anaheim winger has played in the NHL since 1992, but so far the Stanley Cup trophy has given the Finn a wide berth. "I have sacrificed more for this than many people know", Selänne says, and one senses that he knows it is now or never. He is 36, has had his fair share of bigtime injuries, and must be wondering how much he still has left in the tank for future seasons.
      "The media always brings up the cars, the boats, and the money, but rarely pays attention to how many sacrifices one has to make and how much one has to work for achieving something like this."
      In the next game Anaheim will be playing for winner-takes-all stakes. At least if they are the winners tonight.
      "We’ll use tried and tested methods, the ones that have worked for us in the past. There may be slightly more butterflies in the stomach than usually, but we just have to stay relaxed and play with attitude and heart", Selänne concludes.
      If the Ducks pull it off, Selänne will join a select band of only five other Finnish pro hockey players to lift the trophy and own a Stanley Cup ring.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Selänne and Anaheim two wins from Stanley Cup trophy (31.5.2007)

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