Ducks stay afloat

Salei comes through with biggest goal of career

ANAHEIM, Calif. (Reuters) -- After going unnoticed by many hockey fans during his seven seasons in the NHL, Ruslan Salei made a dramatic impact on the sport's biggest stage on Saturday.

The Belarussian defenseman scored the winning goal 6:59 into overtime to give the Mighty Ducks a 3-2 win over the Devils for their first victory in the Stanley Cup finals.

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"It hasn't hit me yet," Salei said of the goal that narrowed the Devils' lead in the best-of-seven series to 2-1.

"It's unbelievable, though. So far, it's the biggest goal I scored."

Salei got the puck when center Adam Oates drew a faceoff back toward him.

The defenseman fired a wrist shot that sailed past a motionless Martin Brodeur in the New Jersey goal.

Salei knew what to do once he got the puck.

"When you win the draw, you've got to shoot," he said. "As long as there is a line to shoot it, you've got to take a shot and hope for the best."

Salei also knew the significance of his achievement.

"We're down two games and coming home, we need to get momentum going," he said. "That was huge for us."

During the postgame press conference, Anaheim coach Mike Babcock teased Salei, who scored just 21 goals in little more than six full NHL seasons.

"We always say to him, 'Get it on net once in a while,' " Babcock said.

"He bangs it around the glass with the best of them. But he can really shoot the puck."

The 28-year-old hardly receives the kind of attention that goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere or left wing Paul Kariya get, but since January Salei has played a significant role in Anaheim's surge.

The defenseman, who played for his Belarus in the last two Winter Olympics, had a plus-minus rating of plus-10 for his final 23 games, despite missing 11 games in March with a lower back strain.

Compare that figure to the past two seasons, when Salei was minus-10 in 2001-02 and minus-14 the previous season.

"Rusty's a hard guy who moves the puck and skates," Babcock said. "He's a big-time factor for us."

Salei expressed his success more modestly.

"Every season, you try to get better," he said. "So far, it's going great for me. Hopefully, it's going to continue."

 

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