Blue Jackets win, 1-0, thanks to Ducks goal



Anaheim's Teemu Selanne slid the puck into his own net late.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- The Columbus Blue Jackets needed only one goal to win, and they didn't even score it themselves.
Jason Chimera was credited with a goal that Anaheim's Teemu Selanne slid into his own net late in the third period, giving the Blue Jackets a 1-0 victory against the Mighty Ducks on Wednesday night.
With heavy traffic to the right of Jean-Sebastien Giguere, the puck squirted into the crease. Selanne tried to freeze the puck under his goaltender, but it trickled across the line with just 3:07 remaining.
"I realized he didn't see it and I tried to put my stick behind him," said Selanne, who was stopped on an earlier breakaway. "Then I accidentally hit his pads and pushed it more into the goal. It's a tough break, especially when we had so many chances."
Chimera's linemate Mike Rupp was in the mix looking for the puck.
"I saw the puck was loose, so in that situation you just start digging," Rupp said. "Whoever touched it last, it doesn't matter. Jason has a better celebration than I do, so I'm glad they gave it to him."
Teams trade chances
The teams traded chances the entire game with both goaltenders making tough saves. Marc Denis made 40 saves in posting his 15th career shutout. Columbus has won two straight after losing six in a row.
"As the game went on you kind of think it will be one of those cheap goals you never want to see go in, but I'm just happy I saw it go in the other net," Denis said.
Giguere stopped 41 shots for Anaheim, 5-4-2 in its last 11. The Ducks have only three road wins this season, tied for the fewest in the NHL.
"I didn't think anyone was going to score," Columbus coach Gerard Gallant said. "Both goaltenders were fabulous. I thought it was going to go to a shootout."
The Blue Jackets' third line of Chimera, Rupp and Trevor Letowski created several scoring chances in the third period.
Letowski, who has one goal in 27 games, twice was stopped by Giguere on odd-man rushes. He also fired wide from close range midway through the period.
"They were just getting a little tired and we started taking it to them," Chimera said.
First meeting since trade
The game was the first between the teams since a Nov. 15 trade that sent former MVP Sergei Fedorov from Anaheim to Columbus for Tyler Wright and Francois Beauchemin. Todd Marchant, another former Blue Jackets player, was claimed off waivers by the Ducks one week later.
Beauchemin nearly scored midway through the first period, joining in a counterattack, but his shot hit the left post.
Columbus also had early opportunities but failed to convert on a 1:16 two-man advantage late in the period, and on a 1:22 two-man advantage in the early stages of the second.
"It seems for whatever reason, if we take our free hand off our stick, no matter what happens we got a penalty for it," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said.
The game turned chippy starting midway through the second period as the teams totaled 36 penalty minutes in a 1:19 span. That included two fights in four seconds.