Late-Season Victory Over Kings Was Pivotal

Flash back to early March for the final meeting of the season between the Mighty Ducks and Kings. Although the Kings were struggling because of injuries, they were looking to get back to .500 and figured that a victory over their Southern California rivals would boost them into the playoff picture.

But the Kings, who had lost only once in their previous 10 games against the Ducks, couldn’t get it done against goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who made 20 saves at Staples Center. The Kings’ power play was scoreless in seven opportunities and the Ducks won, 2-1, on a late third-period goal by Samuel Pahlsson.

That’s when Duck Coach Mike Babcock knew he had a team mentally tough enough to be a Stanley Cup contender.

Although the Ducks had defeated the Kings, 6-5, in January, they didn’t play their game because they needed three third-period goals to win.

That wasn’t the case when they beat their local adversary the second time. After the game, Babcock said that the Ducks’ finally broke through a psychological barrier and, since then, there has been nothing stopping them.

Just ask Detroit and Dallas, who lost to the Ducks in the first two rounds, and the Minnesota Wild, on the verge of being swept out of the playoffs.

A breakdown of tonight’s Game 4 at the Pond:

MINNESOTA’S MOVE -- Coach Jacques Lemaire’s team has nothing to lose, so expect the Wild to play loose and free. The Wild can do that by opening things up after being dominated with a more physical lineup in Wednesday’s 4-0 loss to the Ducks.

When Minnesota rallied from 3-1 deficits against Colorado and Vancouver in the opening two rounds of the playoffs, players such as Marian Gaborik, Wes Walz, Andrew Brunette and Cliff Ronning turned up their skating and scored key goals. They need to go for broke tonight because if they don’t, they’ll soon have as much time for golf as the Red Wings and Stars.

Over the first three games of the series, Ronning, Gaborik and Sergei Zholtok are the only Wild players to have at least 10 shots on goal against Giguere. Sure, the Ducks’ team defense has played a key role in limiting room for the Wild, but players such as Pascal Dupuis, Antti Laaksonen and Brunette have to step up their games for Minnesota to win just one game against the Ducks.

DUCKS’ MOVE -- The Ducks’ scouts deserve credit for the team’s playoff success. Watch how the Ducks always seem to know their opponent’s next move. Whether it’s a player on the forecheck taking a direct angle in anticipation of a Minnesota pass or a defenseman standing up a Wild player before he can give chase for a puck dumped in the Ducks’ zone, Babcock’s team seems a step ahead.

Players such as defensemen Niclas Havelid and Ruslan Salei, along with forwards Jason Krog, Dan Bylsma and Pahlsson, do not score many points, but their execution has been key in keeping the Ducks rolling. And it certainly helps when your big-name players such as Adam Oates, Paul Kariya and Sandis Ozolinsh accomplish the same things.

Another strength for the Ducks: They simply do not turn the puck over with careless passes. Babcock has stressed this type of responsible hockey since training camp, and the scary part is that the Ducks can play even better if their offense continues to score as it did in Game 3.