DUCKS TRIUMPH IN OVERTIME; SELANNE SHOT BEATS PENGUINS' AUBIN : DUCKS 2, PITTSBURGH 1.

Byline: Greg Christensen Staff Writer

Jaromir Jagr, Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne are the NHL's version of superstars on ice. Wednesday's Mighty Ducks-Pittsburgh Penguins game figured to be wide open, featuring plenty of scoring chances and a fair amount of goals.

The game did have a penalty shot and two two-man advantages in the third period. But it didn't end until, with 1:22 left in overtime, Selanne took a feed from Oleg Tverdovsky and scored to give the Ducks a 2-1 victory.

``Oleg gave me the puck in a great position. I was surprised I was so open,'' said Selanne, who has five goals this season.

Referee Paul Stewart did his best to give himself top billing in the star-studded attraction by giving the teams lengthy two-man advantages in the third.

Neither team, however, was in the accepting mood. The Penguins managed one good shot by Alexei Kovalev during their 69-second two-man advantage, but that was it.

The Ducks are normally unstoppable when given a two-man advantage. But with a chance to take the lead late in the game, they generated only five relatively harmless shots during their 1:39 two-man advantage.

After a tight-checking and downright dull first period, the game's complexion changed in the first 30 seconds of the second when Jagr and Kariya were both stopped on scoring chances.

Jagr and Kariya were dangerous each time they touched the puck, while the game's third superstar, Selanne, was a threat to both the Penguins and the Ducks.

To Anaheim, it had to seem as if Jagr was on the ice the entire 20 minutes. The Ducks were fortunate he scored only once in the period.

The Penguins captain, who had six shots in the period, gladly accepted Selanne's second ill-advised centering pass in two games and turned it into the game's first goal at 11:45 when his shot slipped through Dominic Roussel's pads.

Earlier in the period, Jagr shanked a shot from the left circle with the right side of the Ducks net wide open. Moments later, Roussel turned aside his backhander.

Late in the period Jagr picked up the puck when Selanne couldn't get a shot off. Once again he was alone against a Anaheim defenseman and Roussel, but this time the made the save.

Steve Leach nearly put the Penguins in front seven minutes into the period after a Ducks turnover, but his point-blank shot slammed off the left post.

Less than a minute later, Selanne got a step on the Pittsburgh defense, was pulled down by defenseman Brad Werenka and was awarded a penalty shot.

Selanne, however, came up empty on his first penalty shot as a member of the Ducks when Jean-Sebastien Aubin got his right leg pad on the Anaheim winger's backhander.

After Jagr's unassisted goal gave the Penguins the lead, the Ducks got even with Marty McInnis' power-play goal.

CAPTION(S):

photo

PHOTO The Ducks' Marty McInnis, center, is sandwiched between Pittsburgh's John Slaney, left, and Andrew Ference during the first period.

Michael Caulfield/Associated Press