IT'S DEJA DISNEY ALL OVER AGAIN.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

ANAHEIM - Who needs a Rally Monkey?

Maybe my vision and hearing have gone fuzzy, since I'm up late and far from home, down here in a fantasyland where all of the professional teams are winners.

But I think I just saw Troy Percival throwing a hip check, Darin Erstad stripping a puck-handler, Tim Salmon threading a pass, Garret Anderson firing a slap shot and Adam Kennedy tipping it into the net. I think I just saw Scott Speizio wristing home a goal, Francisco Rodriguez kicking out a save and David Eckstein dancing into the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. I think I just heard Mike Scioscia saying you've got to take these series one shift at a time.

I think I just watched the Anaheim Mighty Ducks turn into the Anaheim Angels - not six months after the Angels turned into giant-killers.

Rallying after falling behind early in the game Wednesday night, then recovering after giving up a fluky tying goal in the 58th minute, the Ducks got a goal from Steve Rucchin in the seventh minute of overtime to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 and complete a 4-0 series sweep of the Stanley Cup champions.

``(Angels-Ducks) would be a great comparison,'' said Keith Carney, the Ducks defenseman and assistant captain who assisted Jason Krog on the third-period goal that made it 2-1 and assisted Rucchin on the game-winner. ``But, of course, we know what they did last year, and it's a little early to make the comparison.''

But not too early.

The Angels upset the Yankees, winners of three of the previous five World Series, in the first round of the playoffs in October. The Ducks knocked out the Red Wings, winners of three of the past five Stanley Cups, in the first round of the playoffs this April.

The feelings are as similar as the Mickey Mouse-ear hats on the children down the street.

So are the formulas.

``They got themselves into the playoffs and were playing their best baseball at that time,'' Carney said earlier Wednesday. ``Everything seemed to come together, it was a total team effort, and that's what it takes at this time of year.''

Deja vu.

``So far we've been getting good play from everybody,'' Carney said.``Look at our scoring: Six different scorers (accounting for the Ducks' first seven playoff goals) and great goaltending (by Jean-Sebastien Giguere). Things are going the right direction for us.''

If the Ducks, going on 10 years without a championship, need inspiration at this point, they can find it in the Angels, who went 41 years.

``It's very complimentary to be compared to a World Series champion,'' said Paul Kariya, the left winger and captain. ``They (the Angels) got off to the worst start in franchise history and wound up winning the World Series. It gives a lot of people hope that they can turn things around. We've turned things around here - but we've still got a long way to go.''

The Ducks didn't lose 14 of their first 20 games and then win more games the rest of the way the way the Angels did in 2002.

The Ducks did, though, stumble around at sub-.500 in the season's first half and need the NHL's sixth-best record the rest of the way to make the playoffs.

They have veterans - Rucchin, Kariya, Mike Leclerc - who deserve this after many down years - the Ducks' answer to the Angels' Percival, Salmon and Erstad. They have rookies - Stanislav Chistov, Kurt Sauer - who have been spectacular in the playoffs - the icebound equivalents of Roriguez and John Lackey.

At least for the next five minutes, until the Angels' sale to Phoenix businessman Arturo Moreno goes through, they and the Ducks are fraternal twin franchises in the Disney corporate family. They share accounting and facility-services departments while their organizational trees' other limbs are increasingly separate. The Pond and Edison Field are visible from each other across Katella Avenue and the Orange Freeway (57).

The Angels players were in front of the clubhouse television sets following their Monday-night game in Texas, cheering the Ducks' 2-1 victory over Detroit.

The baseball players were returning a favor to the hockey players who rooted them on in the World Series.

On the Saturday when the Angels faced San Francisco in World Series game 6 at Edison Field, the Ducks switched their scheduled night game against Edmonton at The Pond to the afternoon so fans could attend both. Several Ducks players attended both, too.

By the time the Ducks got to the ballpark, the Giants had a five-run lead.

``We were disappointed,'' Carney said.

Then they watched as the Angels put on the biggest comeback in World Series history by a team facing elimination.

``That Game 6,'' Carney said, ``it was the best atmosphere I've ever been around for a sporting event.''

Until Wednesday, maybe.

The Angels' famous Rally Monkey made a token appearance on The Pond's video screen between periods Monday to wish the Ducks luck.

Beyond that, he wasn't needed.

So there's one difference between October and April.