Whereas everything points to the Ducks not being able to do so, there are some factors in play that may enable them to raise Lord Stanley's Cup once again in June.

It is very hard for a team to play into June and come back the following season and do the same. The Ducks two best players last season, Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne retired last season, took a long vacation and unretired.

Niedermayer returned in mid-December (playing in 48 games) and Selanne returned in February to play in 26 contests. The duo took off enough time to get a six month rest for Niedermayer and an eight month vacation for Selanne.

Don't underestimate how important this may be. Their aging bodies had a lot of time to recover from the various bumps, bruises and more, that occur during the playoffs. The two will be at full strength when the playoffs begin on Wednesday.

When you add the fact that the Ducks have the best set of blueliners in the NHL, and the emergence of Ryan Getzlaf as a star, you can see why the Ducks cannot be dismissed in talking about Anaheim's Stanley Cup chances.

Every major sport in North America has had repeat champions since Detroit last did it in 1998. The Lakers in basketball did it three years in a row ending in 2002. The Yankees won three times in a row from 1998-2000 and the New England Patroits won the Super Bowl in back-to-back years in 2003 and 2004.

It seems that hockey is the toughest sport to repeat in, with a salary cap and the demands of playing playoff hockey for two months, only to go back on the ice a measly three months later. It is a price that not too many teams can make anymore, with the sole question being, can the Ducks do it?

We shall find out in June, if not earlier.