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Selanne raves about Boudreau, compares current Ducks to 2007 champs

Anaheim Ducks v Los Angeles Kings

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 22: Teemu Selanne #8 of the Anaheim Ducks waits for a faceoff against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on December 22, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Stephen Dunn

While the Chicago Blackhawks have been grabbing most of the headlines in 2013, the Anaheim Ducks aren’t all that far behind in the standings.

Teemu Selanne spoke to the team’s Web site about this year’s surprisingly successful team and the great job head coach Bruce Boudreau has been doing.

“It’s a package of everything,” Selanne said. “Bruce [Boudreau] has been unbelievable. He tries to feed the confidence and the right feelings. All the leaders are pushing everybody, and everyone is chipping in. That’s what it takes.”

The 42-year-old icon explains some of Boudreau’s methods, including a little game where he selects certain combinations by pulling names out of a hat.

” ... The way [Bruce] is shaking the hat and pulling those names out for different combinations, it has to be working,” Selanne said. “He has a deep hat. [Laughs]. It’s funny, but that’s how you get everybody going.”

One cannot help but wonder: how does this version of the Ducks compare to the team that won the franchise’s only Stanley Cup in 2007?

“If you look at how deep we’ve been and how solid we’ve been even in the bad games, we find the ways to win the games, like back then,” Selanne said. "[We have] two great goaltenders. It’s all the feelings that create the confidence like I’ve been talking about. I’ve always said that [with] one line, you can have fun. Two lines and you can go to the playoffs and have some success. But if you have three lines, you’re a championship team or a contender. That’s what has happened here.