Ducks aren’t resting on laurels

Three white banners that sit in the rafters of the Honda Center belong to the building’s only professional sports tenant.

One simply reads “2003 Western Conference Champions” in representing the Ducks’ crowning achievement to date. The other two -- the “Inaugural Season” and “A Mighty Decade” -- reflect the need to cover up some empty space.

Now they can add another to their castle that has legitimacy behind it.

The Ducks will be in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fifth time in their 13-year history, but it will be the first as champions of the Pacific Division. As the No. 2-seeded team in the Western Conference, they will play host to Game 1 of a first-round series against the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night.

“A divisional title means a great deal to us,” Ducks General Manager Brian Burke said. “It has playoff implications for our team, and tremendous historical value to our fans.”

Defenseman Sean O’Donnell, who will take part in his seventh postseason, says there are two ways to look at that achievement.

“It doesn’t mean anything because it’s all about winning the Stanley Cup,” O’Donnell said. “But it’s a testament to what the guys do in here and what the coaches do to prepare us for 82 games.”

Boosted by starts of 12-0-4 and 27-4-6 that set franchise records, the Ducks took over first place on Oct. 27 and withstood every challenge to their lead over the next five months.

“It’s not easy to do that,” Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle said.

“We suffered through some stretches where we lost key personnel. Other guys stepped to the forefront. Maybe our record didn’t indicate that, but we were in every hockey game and this group has battled.”

But how much does winning a division title really mean? Generally speaking, it does carry some importance.

The last Stanley Cup champion that failed to win their division was the New Jersey Devils in the 1999-2000 season. The Devils finished second in the Atlantic to the Philadelphia Flyers but went on to win the Cup in six games over the Dallas Stars.

But there are six divisional winners each year and many have fallen short.

And there are many upstarts that got hot in the playoffs and carried the momentum all the way to the finals -- Washington in 1998, Buffalo in 1999, Carolina in 2002, the Ducks in 2003 and Edmonton in 2006.

Through many years with the Devils, Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer learned to keep his eye on the big prize.

“A good regular season doesn’t really get you much,” Niedermayer said. “We’ve really got to refocus here and get back to playing as well as we possibly can when we start.”

Minnesota is back in the playoffs, having advanced to the West finals in 2003 before being swept by the Ducks. The Wild are 22-5-4 since Jan. 27 and their 48-26-8 record is the best in their brief six-season history as an expansion franchise.

Star winger Marian Gaborik returned from a serious groin injury to provide 30 goals and 57 points in only 48 games. Former Kings center Pavol Demitra had 64 points to tie for the team lead with Brian Rolston.

But the biggest addition was goaltender Niklas Backstrom, a 29-year-old rookie who played nine years in his native Finland. Backstrom beat out incumbent Manny Fernandez and has a 1.94 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage to lead all NHL goalies.

“They’ve added some personnel over the summer and their team is playing at the top of its game,” Carlyle said.

“We’re going to be in for a dogfight.”

Niedermayer will know what the Ducks are up against, having played for Wild Coach Jacques Lemaire on the Devils’ 1995 Cup champion.

“They’re a team that doesn’t beat themselves with the way they’re coached,” Niedermayer said.

“They’re a very sound team and it’s going to force us to play the same type of game. Take care of the puck, get it in their end and go on from there. That’s what we’re after.”

Now it’s time for the Ducks to chase after the banner they really want.

eric.stephens@latimes.com

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HOW THEY MATCH UP

FIRST LOOK

* HOW THEY MATCH UP -- The teams split four games this season with each winning twice at home. The Ducks scored a team-record 254 goals this season and they’ve done it with a variety of sources. Five players had 25 goals or more and six players scored at least 50 points. But the ever-attacking Ducks must deal with Minnesota and its clogging neutral-zone trap. Though defense-minded, the Wild are better offensively and containing star forward Marian Gaborik will be a major challenge.

* GOALTENDING -- Jean-Sebastien Giguere will want to prove that he’s more like the goalie that carried the Ducks to the Stanley Cup finals in 2003 than the one who was injured and spent much of the 2006 postseason watching from the bench. If Giguere falters, the Ducks have a confident Ilya Bryzgalov ready and waiting. Minnesota finally gave Manny Fernandez the No. 1 job outright, but he stumbled and the Wild has turned to Swedish rookie Niklas Backstrom, who has been outstanding.

* WHAT TO WATCH FOR -- Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle is no longer a playoff ingenue having guided them to the Western Conference finals last season. But this is a proving ground for the second-year coach as he matches wits with one of the NHL’s best in Minnesota’s Jacques Lemaire. Both teams run effective power plays and can kill penalties with aplomb, so whoever wins the special teams could be the difference in the series.

-- ERIC STEPHENS

*--* SERIES SCHEDULE

*--*

* Game 2: Friday at Ducks, 7:30

* Game 3: Sunday at Minnesota, 5

* Game 4: April 17,at Minnesota, 6

* Game 5: April 19 at Ducks, 7:30*

* Game 6: April 21 at Minnesota, TBA*

* Game 7: April 23 at Ducks, 7*