The Anaheim Ducks beat the Calgary Flames Sunday night in Anaheim 4-2, in the process chasing starter Miikka Kiprusoff after two periods and 26 shots (all four goals coming in the second, on 16 shots). The game turned nasty at several points, with fighting majors handed out to the expected players early (Godard for the Flames, Parros for the Ducks at 2:45 of the first) and some less expected ones late (Iginla for the Flames and Moen for the Ducks at 19:29 of the third).

One’s impression coming away from the game was that the Ducks are back about where they want to be, and that, despite talk of gaining a player before the trade deadline, they’re pretty much set to run riot over the other teams in the Western Conference come April, May, and maybe even June. If you’re betting, in other words, don’t put much money on Anaheim giving up anything that looks like a draft choice to gain anything short term such as a Sundin, or other marquis player. That's because this squad pretty much has a full lineup at this stage, one more than capable of taking them to another Stanley Cup.

It’s not that they’ve built a team the old-fashioned way, with sizzling offense. It’s more that they’re just a hardworking gang of men who do things their way and just keep smashing ahead no matter what their opponents throw at them. That and perhaps the best defense in the history of the league, plus some scoring that’s starting to come around, are the formula they seem to be willing to go with.

The more you’re around the Ducks, the more you realize what a special group they are and, in one sense, how out of place they are in a world of a corporate NHL where the offices are in New York City and the head man a lawyer who doesn’t seem clued in to the history of the game. The Ducks don’t belong in the “new NHL.” They belong in the 1970s, when the Flyers bullied their way to the top.

Better yet, they’re like the dream team the WHA never had; tough, gritty, but featuring just enough first-class talent to make them fun to watch. Here's a quick rundown on the three elements that seem to be working out West.

1 - The One Who Leads

Randy Carlyle never wears his suit coat into the hallway to talk to the press after a game. Instead, it’s shirtsleeves and tie slightly loose. He has no prepared speeches, and he’s not interested in the corporate line. In fact, if this guy were working for IBM in the old days of the blue pinstripe suit, he’d last about as long as it took an uptight middle manager to tell him how to do his job.

Carlyle says what he thinks, he makes jokes, and he keeps it short and real. His persona is a combination of good old boy, untouched innocent, and bemused spectator at his own success. How many NHL coaches do you know who end up laughing at their own jokes almost every press conference? And it’s not that he’s so pleased at his talent at cutting up. It’s that the man is truly funny, and the proof is that everyone else laughs at his witticisms, too. Witness this from Sunday night:

Reporter: “What about the fact that Selanne is back, and now has the club scoring record with 670 points?”

Carlyle: “Teemu calls this his ‘happy place,’ and why is that? Is it all the money he’s made while he’s here? I’d be happy too, you know?” All with a big grin.

Or last year’s, “I’ll tell you how I motivate Dustin Penner. Ever hear of an electric cattle prod?”

What’s the effect of Carlyle’s approach to the game (not just the humor, the package)? He leads by showing the kids who the core of this team is and that it doesn’t matter that they’re playing in a place where hockey doesn’t interest many people. He mitigates what must seem for guys like Kunitz, Perry, Moen, and Getzlaf like a gaping lack of public support. These guys are used to being lauded wherever they go, to playing for packed houses every night (for instance, in Junior), to opening the newspaper every morning and seeing it filled with their exploits and those of their team.

In Anaheim, like in L.A. for the Kings, hockey is at best a sidelight to the real core of entertainment. It might be easy for these young Canadian kids to say, “Hey, I don’t have to bust my butt. Nobody’s watching.”

Carlyle is a reminder to them that this is the NHL and they’d better not either let themselves get sucked into the malaise that the sunshine can provide or lose their way in the Babylon of Hollywood.

What are the temptations? Anyone who’s ever driven to Newport Beach, near where some of these kids live, knows what that means. The Ferrari dealership beckons, and that’s just the start for a youngster far from home and with millions of dollars rolling in.

2- The Few Who Score

Selanne is back; not just in the lineup, but all the way back. He set up Ryan Carter with a perfect pass Sunday night to gain the aforementioned club record (besting Paul Kariya’s old mark).

As Carlyle said, “You can see that the speed is there, and the addition of Carter in the middle, he’s been flying, [giving us] a speed element in our lineup.”

Selanne is yet to really light it up, having scored a single goal to date this year in seven games, but Sunday night, he had another chance and was stopped only by Kiprusoff reaching behind him with a pad for a save. It’ll come, especially when he starts to click with his linemates (right now, Carter and Kunitz.)

He said after the game, “I’m just trying to get back into game shape; that’s the only goal that I have right now.” He added, “I think we [his line] played really well. I think we had a lot of good chances. I’ve played with Kunitz before and I know that that’s going to work. This is the first chance I’ve played with Carter, and he did a good job. I think it’s going to be fun.”

The only regret I have to add here is this: with four more goals, Teemu will knock Maurice Richard out of the 25th spot on the all-time goal scoring list (Richard ended his career with 544).

Add to Selanne Ryan Getzlaf. He’s way out front of any other Ducks player with 62 points coming into Sunday; he had a ten-game goal scoring drought going, too after riding a 15-game point streak during which he was 6-16-22 from December 22nd to January 23rd. But he scored and added an assist against Calgary to get going again. When a reporter asked him after the game what it felt like, he said, “I started off the year so well, getting the goals, and the puck just finds [me]. [But ] you go through those things [droughts] and you’ve just got to limit them.”

He described his goal this way. “It was just a panic and shoot. I was coming down the slot, and just the way things have been going my whole mindset has been pass, pass, pass, and I thought at the last second it was a good time to shoot for me in the slot, and it went in.”

Anaheim’s goal leader right now is Corey Perry, with 28. He’s also got 22 assists to his credit. Last year, he was 17-27-44. To put it in better perspective, this is a guy who played 19 games in Portland of the AHL two years ago, and who now is third in the league in goals scored by players under 22. The others are Ovechkin, who is 22 and Malkin (21). That's not bad company. Trailing next with 25 goals is L.,A.’s Kopitar (who is seven months shy of legal drinking age in this country still).

3 - The Many Who Fight

Of course there’s Parros, and Sunday night, he displayed a key new trick, one which, if his opponents are reading this, they had better be wary of. His method of fighting was always more grabbing than punching, holding opponents at arms length. But what he’s displaying now is to get a little closer and, instead of throwing straight blows, to swing with precisely trained right hooks. It’s sick to watch, and if one connects, you’re going to see an opposing player take a big dive. Heck, it might even be the one that knocks fighting right out of the NHL game.

Then there’s the defense. Sunday, on two occasions, they refused to stay out at the blue line when the crap flew behind the Calgary net, instead coming down to help out. O’Donnell is a thick, mean, nasty man with the build of a sailor and the snarl of a bulldog (on the ice, only. He’s more than accommodating in the room when you’ve got a question after a game.) Beauchemin is a guy you’d probably not try to steal a girlfriend from, unless you’re overly confident. Pronger doesn’t so much fight as scare people, and as the captain of this team, he’s there for his brothers when needed. He’s got 110 penalty minutes too. You don’t get those playing like Bob Gainey.

Forward-wise, there’s a pack of tough dudes on this roster. Kunitz, despite his size, is a determined little bugger who’ll throw down. Cory Perry is more lanky than he appears, and long arms tend to be a fighter’s best weapon. Moen is a pleasant enough fellow in an interview, but he’s got the face of the bully that was a constant threat in your grade school, and he doesn’t mind dropping them. Iginla did more or less get the better of him Sunday, but he’s not an opponent to be taken lightly. Selanne can mix it up when provoked (just kidding).

How about Bertuzzi? He's not as big and scary as you probably think, but then again, there's his reputation. Would you attack a guy who has shown what he’s capable of? Brian Sutherby, when he’s in there, is good for a scrap whenever needed. Brad May, also, is a two-sided coin. In the dressing room, he’ll disarm you with his smile. It’s the kind of grin that, on a salesperson, makes people buy new cars they didn’t plan to. You just kind of trust the guy. But he’s also rugged and battle-scarred in a way which shouts “I’m your wingman, so just play your game and trust me.”

What other elements are needed to win again?

Goaltending is a must, and if anything ever happened to Giguere, that Bryzgalov giveaway would look like an extremely unwise move, but here’s knocking on wood for Giggy’s health.

Good draws in the playoffs are needed as well. But one way or the other, the Ducks are going to face some or all of Detroit, San Jose, and Dallas, and there’s no reason they can’t adjust to match.

An opponent to underestimate them like Ottawa did last year is also crucial. Not going to happen, but having been there once, the Ducks will be the old masters at handling the hoopla which comes with a final series, if not in Cali, at least in Canada.

It’s not autopilot yet, but at just 19 games left, the countdown is on, and this team is probably tougher than last year, certainly more mature, and aware of what they’re going to face to make it into the final round. Smart money doesn’t bet against them.

Ducks Notes

Doug Weight is about a week away from returning with a shoulder injury.

Want to relive your hockey memories from growing up? Read Brian’s book, Growing Up Hockey. Check out www.growinguphockey.com for more information.