Recap
Blue Jackets 1, Mighty Ducks 0
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (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."

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.

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.

Anaheim's Joffrey Lupul, working off the right half boards, eluded a check and threaded a pass to a streaking Chris Kunitz but Denis gloved Kunitz's shot from just inside the hash marks at 16:30.

"Marc Denis was standing on his head all night long," Chimera said.

Columbus finished 0-for-10 on the power play. The Ducks were 0-for-4.

Notes: Since the trade, Fedorov has seven points. Wright, Marchant and Beauchemin have combined for 20. ... Columbus D Bryan Berard, tied for second on the team with 19 points, missed his fifth consecutive game with a bulging disc in his lower back. ... Ducks C Zenon Konopka was given a game misconduct because his jersey wasn't tied down and it came off during a fight with Adam Foote. ... Blue Jackets C Jan Hrdina left in the second period with a chest injury and didn't return.


Three star selections
1st:   MARC DENIS
2nd:   JASON CHIMERA
3rd:   J GIGUERE
Winning Goaltender
Marc Denis

Losing Goaltender
Jean-Sebastien Giguere

SCHEDULE

HOME
AWAY
PROMOTIONAL

STANDINGS

WESTERN CONFERENCE
  TEAM GP W L OT GF GA PTS
1 p - CHI 48 36 7 5 155 102 77
2 y - ANA 48 30 12 6 140 118 66
3 y - VAN 48 26 15 7 127 121 59
4 x - STL 48 29 17 2 129 115 60
5 x - LAK 48 27 16 5 133 118 59
6 x - SJS 48 25 16 7 124 116 57
7 x - DET 48 24 16 8 124 115 56
8 x - MIN 48 26 19 3 122 127 55
9 CBJ 48 24 17 7 120 119 55
10 PHX 48 21 18 9 125 131 51
11 DAL 48 22 22 4 130 142 48
12 EDM 48 19 22 7 125 134 45
13 CGY 48 19 25 4 128 160 42
14 NSH 48 16 23 9 111 139 41
15 COL 48 16 25 7 116 152 39

STATS

2012-2013 REGULAR SEASON
SKATERS: GP G A +/- Pts
V. Prospal 48 12 18 3 30
M. Letestu 46 13 14 7 27
M. Gaborik 47 12 15 -3 27
F. Tyutin 48 4 18 9 22
B. Dubinsky 29 2 18 2 20
N. Foligno 45 6 13 6 19
J. Johnson 44 5 14 -5 19
A. Anisimov 35 11 7 -6 18
C. Atkinson 35 9 9 9 18
R. Umberger 48 8 10 3 18
 
GOALIES: W L OT Sv% GAA
S. Bobrovsky 21 11 6 .932 2.00
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