DUCKS OF A FEATHER AFTER FALLING SHORT IN THE PLAYOFFS LAST SEASON, ANAHEIM NOW POISED TO MAKE A SERIOUS RUN AT THE STANLEY CUP.

Byline: ELLIOTT TEAFORD

Staff Writer

They have skilled forwards capable of bamboozling opposing players. They also have brainy and brawny defensemen willing to do whatever is necessary to maintain a safe zone for their battle-tested goaltender.

Most of all, though, the Ducks have a sense of purpose.

Eleven months after the upstart Edmonton Oilers knocked them off course, the Ducks believe it's their turn to fulfill their destiny. The Ducks' quest for the Stanley Cup begins tonight against the Minnesota Wild at the Honda Center.

The Ducks set franchise records for victories with 48 and points with 110 en route to their first Pacific Division title. Their mission is incomplete, however.

"The regular season is over," Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger said. "Everybody's got zeroes on the balance sheet. We've got to go get 16."

Sixteen playoff victories would give the Ducks the Stanley Cup championship they believe could have been theirs last year, when they lost to Pronger and the Oilers in five games in the Western Conference finals.

Avoiding a repeat was the chief reason Ducks general manager Brian Burke acquired Pronger last summer from the Oilers for Joffrey Lupul and Ladislav Smid. The 6-foot-6 Pronger delivered 13 goals and 46assists this season, adding another weapon to an already devastating arsenal.

Right wing Teemu Selanne continued his mind-boggling, late-career offensive surge with 48goals and 94 points. He was third in the league in goals, trailing only Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier and Ottawa's Dany Heatley.

Selanne also became the first player in league history 35 or older to record back-to-back seasons of 40 or more goals. Selanne, 36, had 40 goals last season.

However, he was merely one of five Ducks with 25 or more goals this season, joined by linemates Andy McDonald (27) and Chris Kunitz (25). Dustin Penner (29) and Ryan Getzlaf (25), two members of the so-called Kid Line, also hit or passed the mark.

On defense, Scott Niedermayer had a Norris Trophy-caliber season, leading all NHL defensemen with 69 points (15 goals and 54 assists, both career highs).

What's more, Pronger, Francois Beauchemin and Sean O'Donnell played an intense, physical style that fits nicely with the finesse of Niedermayer.

In goal, Jean-Sebastien Giguere set a career high with 36 victories and was fifth in the NHL with a 2.26 goals-against average. What's more, Giguere was the MVP of the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs.

"I think if Pronger is healthy and Jiggy is playing well, they have a chance to win it," Edmonton winger Petr Sykora said last month. "In the modern NHL, they have basically close to a perfect team. They have two of the best defensemen in the league. They have two scoring lines with a lot of skill.

"With this kind of lineup, you have a good chance to win."

Sykora was a part of the Ducks' first lengthy playoff run, when they marched unexpectedly to the Finals in 2003 before losing in seven games to the New Jersey Devils.

Last season's team also was considered an underdog at the start of the playoffs. This one is not, however.

Last fall, Sports Illustrated picked the Ducks to beat the Buffalo Sabres in the Finals and become the first West Coast team to win Lord Stanley's treasured mug since Lester Patrick's Victoria (British Columbia) Cougars in 1925.

In this week's edition, The Hockey News anointed the Ducks "The Team to Beat," picking them ahead of the Sabres, Devils and San Jose Sharks.

All of which means nothing to the Ducks, who realize wanting to win the Stanley Cup is different from actually doing so.

"Last year, we battled hard against Calgary and upset them and then kind of rolled over Colorado," McDonald said, recounting the Ducks' playoff run. "To lose to Edmonton was kind of a shock because we thought we could have gone all the way. You looked around and you could see a lot of guys couldn't believe it was over.

"It was upsetting at the time, but hopefully we're better prepared."

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CAPTION(S):

4 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- 4 -- color) From left, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Teemu Selanne and Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

Photos by Getty Images

Box:

DUCKS VS. MINNESOTA