Do the math

What's the difference between Anaheim's Teemu Selanne and San Jose's Marc-Edouard Vlasic?

That one is a seasoned veteran and the other is a rookie would be correct, but it's not the answer I'm looking for. Nor would the correct answer be that Selanne plays right wing and Vlasic, shown at left, is a defenseman. And don't even bother saying that Selanne is Finnish and Vlasic is French-Canadian.

No, what I'm looking for is the difference in career goals. That answer -- the correct one -- is 499. On a night when Selanne logged his 500th regular-season goal, Vlasic notched the first of his young career. Two milestones in one night. Pretty neat, eh?

Anyways, Selanne, who scored 76 goals in his rookie season (1992-93) with the Winnipeg Jets, became the 36th player to reach the milestone, tipping a shot past Colorado's Jose Theodore. Too bad, though, that the Ducks lost to Colorado, 3-2, in a shootout.

Vlasic, who spent last season playing for Patrick Roy and the Memorial Cup champion Quebec Remparts, was only in kindergarten during Selanne's rookie campaign. And while the significance of his goal, coming against the Kings' Dan Cloutier, might get lost in the aftermath of the Sharks' 6-3 victory over Los Angeles, I'm sure it's pretty special to him.