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ANAHEIM – It would have been a heck of a story. On Saturday night, Teemu Selanne was poised to become the hero in Game 1 of the first-ever Freeway Series between southern Californias two NHL teams. The long-time Anaheim Duck, who wears No. 8, had scored at 8:08 of the third period to put the home team up. It was a script worthy of Hollywood. But the Los Angeles Kings provided a twist ending, scoring with seven seconds left and winning in overtime. Only hours before his goal the 43-year-old Selanne, who is nearing the end of a Hall of Fame career, sat in his dressing room stall and expressed genuine excitement at the prospect of experiencing another first this late in his decorated career. This is the first time in any sport that two teams from this area have battled in the playoffs. "This is something that even I havent faced before so Im very happy that this happened, because even last year was very close, but now its real and its going to be another great experience in my career," Selanne said with a big smile. The Ducks missed out on a date with the Kings last season, because they were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the Detroit Red Wings. "I was just thinking about that the other day and its funny that its never happened," said Selanne. "Theres something special about this." Only days ago it appeared as if Selannes career was headed toward an inauspicious end. He was made a healthy scratch in Game 4 of Anaheims first-round series against the Dallas Stars. It was a bitter pill for the proud Selanne to swallow, but he has responded the right way. "He sat out that one game in the Dallas series and I dont think he was very happy about it, which was natural," said Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf. "Thats what you want to see out of guys. You dont want him to be satisfied by that. He upped his game and hes been great ever since." Selanne had two assists in the thrilling Game 6 come-from-behind win in Dallas. His goal in Game 1 against the Kings snapped a 13-game drought dating back to the regular season. He has put eight shots on net the last two games as his playing time has increased (more than 14 minutes in each of the last two games after posting a high of 11:31 in the Dallas series). Even more impressive than the points has been his physical play. The 6-foot, 198-pound Selanne was last on the Ducks during the regular season with just 15 hits, but you wouldnt have known it based on the last couple of games. "I thought the last two games hes been really good," said Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau. "Hes found a little bit of a fountain of youth, hitting guys, which really isnt his game, but hes committed to the cause and hopefully he gets enough rest where he can do the same thing in Game 2." It was Selannes hit on Robyn Regehr that forced the 6-foot-3, 222-pound Los Angeles defenceman from the game in the Ducks-Kings curtain raiser. "He hit Regehr, knocked him over and Regehrs one of the biggest guys in the league," said Ducks forward Nick Bonino. "Thats what the playoffs are all about: getting out of your comfort zone, hitting guys, making physical plays and thats why teams win." "Im strong too, you know," Selanne quipped while flexing when asked if he was surprised he was able to knock Regehr down. So, is Selanne getting his second wind now that hes in the second round for the first time since 2009? "I think so," he said. "Playoffs, you know, is more physical hockey. Thats not really my style, but I can play physical too." But even with Selannes contribution the Ducks still ended up on the wrong end of a 3-2 overtime result in Game 1. Boudreau said the Ducks internal statistics showed they held the Kings to just three scoring chances during five-on-five play. "I dont know when weve ever held a team to that," he said. "Were not depressed. Id be more depressed if we didnt play any good and we lost. I liked the way we did a lot of the things." Corey Perry had a glorious chance to end it in overtime. With Kings goalie Jonathan Quick out of position, the 43-goal scorer in the regular season had an open net to shoot at, but was foiled by a sliding Alec Martinez, who was able to block the shot. Needless to say, Perry had trouble sleeping Saturday night. "Yeah, I was up for awhile. You think about what it couldve been," he said. "Ive seen it a few times. I thought about it ... He made a great play." Selanne, a veteran of 22 NHL seasons, has been around long enough to know how a team can collect itself after a disheartening defeat. "You just cant get too high even if you win," said Selanne, who won a bronze medal with Finland during Februarys Sochi Olympics just one day after a crushing loss to rival Sweden in the semi-finals. "Enjoy a little bit or be down a little bit, but then just forget it and keep going. You can always learn something win or lose and just go from there." There was a clear lesson for the Ducks in Game 1: their power play, which generated six shots while failing to score on four chances, can be much better. "Thats one area we want to fix, because all great teams they have a great power play and that can make winning so much easier. Our power play, the whole year, has been a little bit up and down," said Selanne. Anaheim finished 22nd in power-play efficiency during the regular season converting on 16 per cent of its chances. The Ducks do have seven power-play goals in the playoffs, which is tied for the league lead, but four of the goals came during one game (Game 5 against the Stars). "We got to generate some opportunities," said Getzlaf. "We moved the puck around pretty well, but we didnt really generate a whole lot. I think that starts with getting some shots through against a team where its not easy to get pucks to the net. Their D do a good job blocking shots and we just got to get that mindset that were going to take it to the net a little bit more." And while the Ducks believe they can do a better job with the man advantage they werent about to get down on themselves even though they have squandered home-ice advantage. "I dont think we had a weak link [Saturday] night," said Selanne. "We deserved better than that, but its hockey and the goals matter and we couldnt put the game away. Game 2 is a new opportunity." Theres a reason Anaheim has a healthy confidence when it comes to battling Los Angeles. The Ducks won four of the five games against the Kings in the regular season and the one loss came in a shootout. "Theres no secrets between these two teams," Selanne explained. "Theyre very, very close matches, tight-checking, low-scoring and whoevers going to do the little things better [will win]. It could go either way." This is a burgeoning rivalry. Bad blood is building, but there is also a healthy respect between the clubs. The Ducks were impressed, for example, watching the Kings dig out from an 0-3 hole against the San Jose Sharks in the first round. "It was actually fun to watch. Its remarkable, unbelievable so, you know, you got to give a lot of credit to those guys," said Selanne. "They have a team that just keeps coming and, it was funny, even though they lost Game 3 you could see the confidence level building higher and higher and then they really started believing and they almost had another gear and the Sharks they didnt have that." Bottom line: the Kings are more than a worthy adversary even though Anaheim finished 16 points ahead of them in the regular season standings. "You need everyone to play 60 minutes at least at your own level and sometimes you need to over-achieve to win the game. Every team is as good as their weakest link. Thats the beauty of team sports," said Selanne, outlining the recipe for success. So the stage is set for an epic battle as a savvy veteran aims to keep his NHL career alive and help Anaheim win the first-ever Freeway Faceoff. And if Game 1 was any indication its going to be a special series. On Saturday, fans from both sides chanted proudly at the Honda Center. They were rewarded for their passion with a thrilling finish. "It was unbelievable. Cant ask more than that," Selanne said when asked about the atmosphere. "Both teams and the fans have been waiting for this matchup for a long time so lets enjoy it." Jerseys Outlet .J. -- Omar Cummings helped the Houston Dynamo advance to the MLS Eastern Conference finals. Wholesale China Jerseys . - Jesse Shynkaruk scored a hat trick as the Moose Jaw Warriors snapped a seven-game losing streak with an 8-2 win over the Prince Albert Raiders in Western Hockey League action on Saturday. http://www.cheapjerseysdiscount.com/. But history aside, theyre still happy to participate in the Par 3 contest, traditionally held on the day prior to the first round of the Masters. China Jerseys .com) - Graeme McDowell opened up with a first- round, 5-under 67 on Thursday and he holds a 2-shot lead at the WGC - HSBC Champions. Discount Jerseys . Napoli hit two home runs, Jonny Gomes and prized rookie Xander Bogaerts also connected, and the Red Sox kept up their dizzying scoring spree at Yankee Stadium by bashing New York 13-9 Saturday for a fifth straight win.CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Steve Clifford isnt exactly singing his teams praises after the Bobcats won for the sixth time in seven games. In fact, the first-year head coach said hes a little concerned about his teams focus as the playoffs approach. "We havent been the same team the last two games," Clifford said. "Whether we exhaled after clinching (a playoff spot), or whatever it is, I dont know. Whatever it is, we have two games to get it back." The Bobcats held on to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 111-105 on Saturday behind 29 points and 12 rebounds from Al Jefferson, but it was far from an impressive victory. The win came on the heels of a costly loss at Boston Friday night that dropped the Bobcats back to seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings. Charlotte (41-39) remains one game behind Washington in the race for the sixth seed with two games left. The Wizards defeated Milwaukee 104-91 on Saturday night. Jefferson said the Bobcats need to find their mojo with two tough games coming up to close the season — at Atlanta on Monday night and at home against Chicago on Wednesday. "I thought (the loss to Boston) would wake us up for this game, but I dont know whether it was a back-to-back, three games in four nights or what," Jefferson said. "... You could tell we were low energy. But we found a way to win, so thats the positive side of it." You cant blame Jefferson for the teams sudden funk. He has at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in each of the last six games, a franchise record. Luke Ridnour, starting in place of injured point guard Kemba Walker, had 12 points and eight assists in his first start for Charlotte. Clifford said he expects Walker to return from a groin injury Monday night. But he expressed plenty of confidence in Ridnour to handle the role when needed. "Were organized when Luke is in there," Clifford said. "He gets guys into their right spots. He has a high basketball IQ and he knows the NBA game." Michael Carter-Williams had 23 points and eight assists to lead the 76ers, who havee lost 16 of their last 17 games on the road.dddddddddddd The same problem that haunted the Bobcats in their loss to Boston — poor defensive effort — hurt them early on against the 76ers. Philadelphia took a 59-56 at the break despite the Bobcats shooting 62 per cent from the field in the first half. Charlotte would begin to take control late in the third quarter, opening a double-digit lead behind a pair of 3-pointers from Ridnour and Chris Douglas-Roberts and some solid inside play from Cody Zeller. But ultimately the game came down to Philadelphias inability to stop Jefferson in the low post. Jefferson is averaging 26.1 points and 13 rebounds over the past six games and he showed again why hes an All-NBA team candidate. Jefferson had his way early on scoring 21 points in the first half on 10-of-13 shooting. He used his old-school style of play to make defenders Henry Sims and Byron Mullens look foolish at times by getting them to leave their feet with pump fakes, leading to easy up-and-under layups. "Hes got one of the best head fakes in the game, so its tough to defend him," Mullens said. Philadelphia got 16 points from Thaddeus Young and 15 from Henry Sims, but it wasnt enough for the leagues second-worst team. Still, it was a better showing than last week when the 76ers lost by 30 to the Bobcats on their home floor. At one point, the 76ers fell behind by 16, but closed to within four in the final minute — but were unable to take the lead. "It was entirely different," coach Brett Brown said. "When you look at the last time we played this team, it was as good an effort as anybody has played on our home court. They shot it and they guarded. Tonight we blinked a little in the third, but we found a way to get back in it in the fourth." NOTES: Philadelphias Jarvis Varnado was a late scratch with a right heel injury. ... The Bobcats have won 24 games at home, the second-most in franchise history. .. The Bobcats are 18-9 since the All-Star break, including 14-6 in their last 20 games. ' ' '