Selanne Sees Stars in Loss

DALLAS — No one seemed to know precisely what defenseman Craig Ludwig was thinking when he slammed Teemu Selanne’s head into the glass, dazing the Duck captain and igniting three brawls, during the Stars’ 6-3 victory over the Mighty Ducks Friday night at Reunion Arena.

Not Duck Coach Pierre Page.

Not Dallas Coach Ken Hitchcock.

Not Ludwig, who refused comment at game’s end.

And certainly not Selanne, who remained on the ice for at least five minutes while trainer Greg Smith tended to him and fights broke out all over the ice.

Smith said Selanne was “dazed and his neck was a little sore.” He will be examined again today in Anaheim. Selanne refused comment, as did the rest of the Duck players.

David McNab, assistant general manager, said General Manager Jack Ferreira had contacted the league office in hopes of Ludwig being disciplined.

“I don’t know why that happened,” Page said. “The score is 5-1. They had complete control of the game. There were only a few minutes left.

“Do you know why? I have no idea. I didn’t see us do anything to warrant what they did to Teemu.”

The Ducks didn’t exactly leap to Paul Kariya’s defense after Chicago Blackhawk defenseman Gary Suter gave him a concussion Feb. 1. Kariya continues to battle post-concussion syndrome, which has jeopardized his return to the ice this season.

This time, the Ducks reacted with outrage at what Ludwig had done. First, Jason Marshall, then David Karpa tried to get at him as the first of three major brawls broke out.

“Tonight was a buildup of emotion that started with Suter’s hit on Paul Kariya,” Page said. “You saw a team trying to stick together. Then [the Stars] tried to stick together and it got out of hand.

“[The Stars] have had a good season so far. They’ve had a lot of injuries and they’re frustrated and they took it out on our best player.”

Selanne, who missed five games recently because of a lower abdominal injury, continues to lead the NHL with 43 goals. Until the Ducks began to fade from playoff contention, he was one of the leading most valuable player candidates.

Ludwig had shadowed Selanne for most of Friday’s game, holding him to three shots as the Ducks fell behind by scores of 4-0 and 5-1 en route to their seventh consecutive defeat.

But as the clock ticked down toward the Ducks’ ninth consecutive defeat at Reunion Arena, there was nothing to foreshadow the violence to come.

“It went from a quiet, 5-1, win to a 6-3 all-hell-breaks-loose donnybrook,” Hitchcock said. “The situation at the end was very scary. I don’t like it when stuff like that happens.

“They didn’t like what we did to Teemu and we didn’t like what they did to some of our guys.”

Hitchcock was referring to the pummeling Ducks’ Brent Severyn and Warren Rychel administered to Dallas’ Darryl Sydor and Craig Muni after Selanne was injured.

Severyn hit Sydor repeatedly, then body-slammed him to the ice before joining another fight nearby. He then decided to have another go at Sydor, hitting him several times before throwing him to the ice again and leaving him with a bloody face.

Rychel wound up on top of Muni, belting him at will before the linesmen broke up their bout.

Peace lasted for all of two seconds before the teams starting fighting again. Dallas left wing Jason Botterill jumped Steve Rucchin as the puck was dropped to touch off the third brawl.

Duck defensemen Dmitri Mironov and Ruslan Salei paired off with Pat Verbeek and Grant Marshall.

Nine seconds passed before Duck Jeremy Stevenson fought Jamie Langenbrunner. And that set up a surreal scene in which the Ducks had only three players on the ice with only goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov and the coaching staff on the bench.

“I told the guys not to take instigating penalties,” Page said. “I told them not to get thrown out of the game. [But] I think the guys know and respect Teemu and Paul. The other teams haven’t respected our skill guys for months now. I guess we’ll all have long memories.”