Ducks Can Make 7 Their Plucky Number

Game 7.

After a decade of anonymity, the Mighty Ducks tonight will finally climb upon a stage recognized by everyone, speaking a language understood by all.

Game 7.

You don’t need to know a forecheck from a bounced check to understand its meaning. You don’t need to own a purple jersey or an Orange County address to sense its import.

They are the only two words in the English language that mean the same in every sport. They are the only two words powerful enough, for a brief moment on a June night, to turn La-La Land into Hockeytown.

Game 7.

The Ducks will play the New Jersey Devils tonight in the decisive Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals in a cold Jersey rink filled with parched throats and sweaty palms.

A Duck victory would mark the most improbable achievement in NHL history, a professional miracle on ice.

It would also give Southern California the unmatched distinction of housing five reigning professional sports champions at one time -- Lakers, Angels, Sparks, Galaxy and Ducks.

It begins at 5 p.m. Pacific time on Channel 7, certain to be the most-watched NHL game in Southland history, absolutely the most important.

Monday Night Skateball.

Not all Southland sports fans may understand hockey, but they all know Game 7, seeing as there have been three such beasts roam across our landscape in the last four years.

In all three, the local team was working from behind.

In all three, the local team survived and overcame to make the memories that form the blueprints of the most successful era in Southland sports history.

It is a legacy best described in the headlines that framed it.

“Wow! The West Is Won”

“An Epic Hurdle”

“Fantasyland!”

The first two were Laker playoff victories. The last one was the Angel World Series championship victory.

The map has been carved into the ice for the Ducks, who trailed this series two games to none and three games to two. The karma feels the same. The comparisons are eerily similar.

If you believe in the legacy, then tonight you will believe in the Ducks.

Start with “Wow! The West Is Won.”

It was 2000. The Lakers came back from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers, 89-84, in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.

Remember how it started? Not with the fourth-quarter flurry, but with Brian Shaw’s banked three-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer. It stunned the Trail Blazers. They never recovered.

Sort of like Paul Kariya’s goal late in the second period in Saturday’s Game 6.

It sent the Devils back to their dressing room in a daze. They never threatened again. Will they be thinking about that tonight? Will Kariya’s goal, like Shaw’s shot, be discussed for years to come?

Sure, that works.

Then there was “An Epic Hurdle.”

It was 2002. The Lakers came back from a three-games-to-two deficit to defeat the Sacramento Kings, 112-106, in overtime, in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.

The Kings, although playing at home, were physically drained after chasing and pounding on the Lakers for two weeks.

This fatigue showed at the foul line, where the Kings missed 14 of 30 free throws while the Lakers missed only six of 33.

Sort of like the Devils, who, after doing the same sort of chasing and pounding, were hit with 10 reckless and careless penalties Saturday, more than in the first four games combined.

Are they as tired as the Kings? Will they wilt like the Kings?

Sure, that also works.

Finally, there was “Fantasyland!”

This was the Angels’ 4-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 of last fall’s World Series, the end of a championship that now feels very familiar.

Both the Angels and Ducks had an inspirational Game 6 victory on a Saturday night. Both so demoralized their opponent, it felt as if the series had ended right there.

The Giants talked big, but they had blown their best chance, and they knew it.

The Devils sounded exactly the same Saturday night.

“It’s a great opportunity to go out and play for the Stanley Cup in Game 7, so you forget about this,” said Devil goaltender Martin Brodeur, in words stolen directly from Barry Bonds.

Angels to Ducks, Scott Spiezio to Steve Rucchin, Mike Scioscia to Mike Babcock, Tim Salmon to Jason Krog.

Certainly, that works.

Whatever happens tonight, one team carries the pressure of blowing a three-games-to-two lead in the finals two years ago, while the other team carries the relaxed knowledge that such comebacks have occurred right down the street.

For the team from the neighborhood of champions, keeping up with the Devils will be a cinch compared to keeping up with the Joneses.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com.