Injured Selanne Stays Out

Forward Teemu Selanne opted to use caution with his injured groin as he sat out Friday night’s home game against the Washington Capitals.

The Ducks’ leading scorer took part in the morning skate and tested the injury in the pregame warmup but said earlier in the day that he would decide at game time if he would be able to play. Selanne injured the groin during practice Wednesday.

“In the morning practice, you don’t have a chance to push it as much,” Selanne said. “You’d rather miss one game or two games than two weeks.”

Selanne, who has a team-leading 19 goals along with 18 assists, said he doesn’t want to risk the chance of pulling the groin. It was the first game he has sat out this season.

“If it’s only pain, that’s no problem,” Selanne said. “You can handle it. But you have to be careful with it.”

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When one thinks of the toughest hockey arenas in which to play, the Arrowhead Pond usually doesn’t come to mind, but the Ducks are making it quite a home-ice advantage. They are 8-1-2 in their last 11 home games and 14-6-4 overall.

“I think we’re comfortable at home,” goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. “When the fans are into the game, they can give us an extra push and it’s worth an extra goal. You might not think it’s a big deal, but it is.”

Said Coach Randy Carlyle: “It’s familiarity. It’s a comfort zone. Our fans. Our building. All those things are factors. Which one is greater, I don’t know? I couldn’t put a finger on it.”

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Facing the Capitals held some extra significance for Carlyle, who spent the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons in Washington as an assistant coach before leaving to coach the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League last year.

“George McPhee allowed me to go back to Manitoba to coach in the lockout year,” he said of Washington’s general manager. “I owe the organization. They gave me an opportunity.”

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The Ducks will leave for Boston this morning and practice Sunday at Harvard before playing the Bruins on Monday afternoon. Carlyle said there was the option of staying in Anaheim today and flying Sunday but a five-hour flight and the three-hour time change would leave little time for preparation.

“You’re looking at 8 1/2 , nine hours of difference in time,” he said.

“We felt it would be in our best interests to go a day earlier than normal. It does stretch the road trip out because we then go to Ottawa and sit there two days before we have to play again.”