Ducks vs Red Wings

Anaheim Ducks forward Teemu Selanne told reporters he got tired in the second half of the 2012-13 season but said he had not yet made a decision if he would return for another NHL season.

Selanne had 12 goals and 24 points in 46 games, but eight in his final 28 games, and one goal in seven games against the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

"The first half, I thought I had the energy," he told reporters in Anaheim. "The second half was a bit more disappointing. The schedule was tougher also. I felt, especially when [Nick] Bonino got hurt, I felt like I didn't find that chemistry I was looking for. Obviously that affected me. I started coming down a little bit, and the job was harder.

"I felt that even though it was a shorter season, the workload was way harder than normal. In a normal season you can pace yourself a little better and you don't have to play seven nights in 10 days all the time. Every game was like a playoff game because you played against your own conference and division teams. It's a totally different level than a normal season. I felt it was way harder than normal. Whatever happens [next season], I know it's going to be easier. It sounds weird, but that's how I feel.

Expectations were lower for the Detroit Red Wings this season than they had been in a long time, but they extended their streak of consecutive appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, that proved to be not enough.

The Red Wings rallied from a 3-2 series deficit and upset the second-seeded Anaheim Ducks following a 3-2 win in Game 7 on Sunday at Honda Center. Their reward is a spot in the Western Conference Semifinals against the rival Chicago Blackhawks.

It will be the last time the teams face each other as conference foes because Detroit is moving to the Eastern Conference next season as part of the NHL's realignment plan.

Here are five reasons the Red Wings are in the second round and Chicago-Detroit will be the marquee rivalry in the Western Conference, not Anaheim-Los Angeles:

Win big or go home? The Anaheim Ducks did a lot of the former and will do the latter quite prematurely in 2013. There wasn't much in between.

Throughout the regular season Anaheim either was on a roll or falling flat. It started 22-3-4, won a club-record 13 home games in a row and looked every bit like a Stanley Cup contender. The flip side was that in its 12 regulation losses in the regular season it was outscored 46-15.

Such inconsistency was its demise in its Western Conference Quarterfinal series against the Detroit Red Wings, where the second-seeded Ducks were eliminated in seven games. Anaheim now has won one Stanley Cup Playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup in 2007.

Here are five reasons Anaheim will have an early start to its summer:

ANAHEIM – Corey Perry and Cam Fowler still had their skates on. Shin pads were not removed from their sweaty bodies yet, as if there was some belief that their season wasn't over and they would get back on the ice to embark on another comeback.

That would imply that the Anaheim Ducks had a shot at a comeback in Game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal series. Instead, the Ducks came out with another horrific start, struggled defensively at times and didn't generate a scoring chance in the third period in a 3-2 loss Sunday night to the Detroit Red Wings, an enormous letdown after the Ducks finished second in the conference.

"I think we all came to the rink tonight, not looking ahead, but looking for the win," Anaheim forward Bobby Ryan said. "We were confident coming in. This is a group that always continues to believe in itself. It's not a very happy group right now."

ANAHEIM – Teemu Selanne kept everyone guessing, even after the game was over.

After a huge throng of reporters and cameramen dropped anchor in front of his corner locker of the Anaheim Ducks' dressing room, Selanne emerged from the opposite entrance and did his media session at the other end, in a white dress shirt and slacks.

"I don't have any answers," Selanne said about his future after the Ducks were eliminated by the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2, on Sunday night in Game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal series at Honda Center.

Selanne, 42, then answered questions about the disappointing loss and again addressed whether he will retire. He had 12 goals and 12 assists in 46 regular-season games for Anaheim before going 1-2-3 in seven postseason contests.

The Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings will decide their closely-contested Western Conference Quarterfinal series Sunday night in Game 7 at Honda Center in Anaheim (10 p.m., ET, NBCSN, TSN, RDS). Four of the first six games, including each of the past three, have been won in overtime.

The Ducks will be playing their fifth Game 7 in franchise history (2-2) and the first since dropping a 4-3 decision at Detroit in the 2009 Western Conference Semifinals. The Red Wings will be making their 23rd Game 7 appearance (13-9) and fifth in the past five seasons.

DETROIT -- When Bruce Boudreau became the coach of a struggling Anaheim Ducks team during the 2011-12 season, offensive depth was a significant problem.

Flash forward to the present, and the very thing that was one of the franchise's biggest weaknesses now is one of its greatest strengths. In a Western Conference Quarterfinal series that features multiple Hall of Fame-level talents on both sides, it is the "other guys" for the Ducks who have them positioned one victory from claiming the series and advancing to the second round.

Anaheim possesses a 3-2 series lead and has a chance Monday to eliminate the Detroit Red Wings in Game 6 at Joe Louis Arena (8 p.m. ET, CNBC, TSN2).

ANAHEIM -- Matt Beleskey could not have asked for much more of an opportunity when he broke in with the Anaheim Ducks as a rookie in the 2009-10 season.

Coach Randy Carlyle put Beleskey on a line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, giving the hard-nosed forward a chance to go into the corners for the stars and convert their offensive overflow. Beleskey scored a career-high 11 goals in 60 games that season.

But Beleskey's career path dipped because of injuries, then a coaching change and a horrific start to the 2011-12 season that resulted in the team missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Like his teammates, Beleskey was focused on a different season for 2012-13.

"I've kind of had a setback the last couple of years, just points-wise," Beleskey said. "I've always wanted to be a goal-scorer and a guy that can contribute offensively. Maybe not a goal-scorer, but a good power forward. You set your goals high and try to reach them."

DETROIT -- Corey Perry still remembers the first time he saw a Sheldon Souray slap shot coming in his direction during Anaheim Ducks training camp.

Souray had just joined the Ducks as a free agent from the Dallas Stars, and Perry is one of the guys expected to be in front of the net for Anaheim, so he knew it was going to happen at some point during a practice.

"It didn't feel good," Perry said Monday at Joe Louis Arena, before shaking his head and laughing. "Thank God I just got turned a little bit and it hit me in the rear end. It is not a lot of fun when you do get hit.

"It is scary. It is hard. He can shoot the puck. That's probably one of the hardest ones in the League, and he shoots to score. When you're standing there, you know he's going to put it by you. You just try to get out of the way."

NEW YORK – Detroit Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader has been suspended for two games for charging Anaheim Ducks defenseman Toni Lydman during Game 3 of their Western Conference Quarterfinal series in Detroit on Saturday, May 4, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 15:11 of the second period. Abdelkader was assessed a major penalty for charging and a game misconduct.

For a full explanation of the decision, complete with video, please click on the following link: http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=60&id=245671.