Mighty Ducks’ Kids in Thick of Race, 4-2 : Hockey: Calgary falls, 4-2, and Anaheim is only three points behind Kings for last spot.

The Mighty Ducks are young, inexperienced and perhaps a little naive.

Coach Ron Wilson likes that in a team.

“Experienced guys don’t at times believe you can make the playoffs,” Wilson keeps saying.

The Ducks still do.

Long after most people--perhaps most notably the Kings’ Marty McSorley--have counted the Ducks out, they are back in the playoff picture, though it’s a crowded one at that.

The young Ducks have spent much of the season in last place, but they beat the division-leading Calgary Flames, 4-2, in front of 17,174 at The Pond of Anaheim on Thursday, joining the horde on the heels of the Kings.

San Jose trails the Kings by one point for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot, and the Ducks are three points back, tied with Winnipeg. Edmonton is one more point behind. With Dallas in seventh place by one point, six teams are within five points of each other seeking the final two spots.

“Unlike some people, we actually think we can make the playoffs,” Wilson said, a pointed reference to McSorley’s claim that the Ducks “think” they’re in a race.

The Ducks play the Kings two more times, both at the Forum.

“They do have a lot more experience than we have,” Wilson said. “We’ll be relying on our enthusiasm and youth and the fact that it would be a huge upset if we can overtake them,” Wilson said.

The game against Calgary was a tight 2-1 game until less than four minutes remained, when Peter Douris sneaked a wraparound past Calgary goalie Trevor Kidd for a 3-1 lead. Douris got the puck behind the net, and while Kidd looked to his right, Douris snuck around to his left and poked the puck into the net, finding a tiny opening between Kidd’s skate and the post at 16:05.

Calgary made them sweat it out when Wes Walz scored on a diving effort with 1:05 left in the game, but the Ducks’ Joe Sacco scored an empty-netter to seal it with 33 seconds left after Kidd was pulled for an extra attacker.

The Ducks have decided scoring first is one of the keys to winning, and they got a quick first goal against the Flames, just as they did when they beat the Kings on Sunday.

The game was barely a minute old when Todd Krygier cut across the neutral zone and beat Kidd with a shot from the top of the right circle for a 1-0 lead at 1:18.

Calgary’s Kelly Kisio tied the score at 7:40 of the first on a perfect pass through the crease from Alan May, usually known more for fighting.

The Ducks were getting great chances, but for all their opportunities, the Ducks led by only 2-1 going into the third. Bob Corkum scored the go-ahead goal at 6:26 after rookie Oleg Tverdovsky stickhandled through the neutral zone and passed to Garry Valk, who fed Corkum for the shot.

Mighty Duck Notes

The Kings’ Marty McSorley won’t face an NHL suspension for elbowing Duck defenseman Bobby Dollas in the head with 23 seconds left in the Ducks’ 5-1 victory Sunday. The Ducks sent the tape to the league, but an NHL spokesman said it has been reviewed and no action will be taken. However, the league often issues unannounced fines. Dollas missed a second consecutive game Thursday because of the aftereffects of a concussion suffered on the hit. Said Duck Coach Ron Wilson: “In this league I do not understand how Marty McSorley can get away with that and not suffer any consequences. (Apparently), unless you break a stick over somebody’s head you’re not going to get a suspension.”