Ducks’ Ryan Kesler makes preseason debut tonight vs. Kings

Timed perfectly, new Ducks center Ryan Kesler will make his preseason debut Thursday night at Staples Center against the Kings, the team he was acquired to help topple.

“Been awhile since I played in my last game,” Kesler said in reference to a final regular-season game with his former team, the Vancouver Canucks, in April.

After falling to the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Kings in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals in May, the Ducks landed former Selke Trophy winner Kesler in exchange for center Nick Bonino, defenseman Luca Sbisa and a first-round draft pick.

Kesler, 30, was paired with forwards Patrick Maroon and Jakob Silfverberg at Thursday’s morning skate at Honda Center.

“Just chisel the rust off – looking forward to a good outing,” Kesler said. “Keep it simple, get my legs under me.”

Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said, “I know we’ve got a serious player who’s going to try hard, but I’m also cognizant that it’s his first preseason game on a new team, going into our arch-enemy’s building.

“If he gets five goals, I’m not going to go nuts. If he’s minus five, I’m not going to go nuts.”

Additionally, goalie John Gibson, who was beaten in that Game 7 against L.A., will be in net Thursday night, with far more defensive support than he had in a 4-0 loss to Arizona on Tuesday. The Ducks’ top four defensemen, pairs Cam Fowler and Ben Lovejoy and Francois Beauchemin and Hampus Lindholm, skated Thursday morning.

“I’m sending him out if we had no defensemen ... you fall off the horse, you get back on,” Boudreau said.