Healthy Ducks are tough hurdle for Canucks

VANCOUVER — Everybody has a Ryan Kesler story.

Some are outrageous. Some are entertaining.

Most revolve around how hard it is to match up against the aggravating Anaheim Ducks centre, who will play his just fourth game of this NHL season today after recovering from offseason hip surgery.

As much as Kesler will hear a chorus of boos every time the polarizing former Canuck touches the puck, he won’t tip-toe around the Rogers Arena ice. He’s not wired that way. He’s a supreme shutdown force and a willing villain.

In his three games, Kesler has a pair of assists and a fight with Matthew Tkachuk. He has been a presence in the faceoff circle and a major irritant.

Sam Gagner knows all about that. Gagner played seven seasons for the Edmonton Oilers when they were bad and got beat up on a regular basis by the wizardry of Henrik and Daniel Sedin and the tenacity of Kesler.

In the Canucks’ march to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, Daniel put up 104 points (41-63) to claim the Art Ross Trophy and Kesler had 41 goals — including three shorthanded and a hat-trick outing against the Oilers — en route to a Selke Trophy.

Kesler will be tasked with shutting down the productive line of Gagner between Thomas Vanek and standout rookie Brock Boeser. Expect him to be at his gabbing and jabbing best.

“He’s one of those guys — he tries to get under your skin and does a pretty good job of it most of the time,” Gagner said Monday. “But you just play and try to push through things and that’s the only way you go about it.

“He’s a big part of their team and you just try to play hard against him and don’t get caught up too much in any of the other stuff.”

Ryan Getzlaf was injured Nov. 9 when the Ducks outplayed and outclassed the Canucks 4-1 in Anaheim. Despite the Ducks missing six regulars, the Canucks managed but 20 shots, went 0-for-5 on the power play and allowed three power play goals.

Getzlaf returned Dec. 11 after missing 19 games with a fractured cheekbone. And with Rickard Rakell, Antoine Vermette and Adam Henrique as options in the middle — depending on injuries and the opposition — the Canucks are going to have their hands full.

They’re still without injured centres Bo Horvat and Brandon Sutter and will be minus their effectiveness in faceoffs and the penalty kill and Horvat’s presence as a driving force to the net.

“It will put the onus on us to make sure we’re doing our jobs on both sides of the puck,” added Gagner. “You don’t necessarily change your mindset. You play aggressive and it has to be a collective effort. We just have to clean up the goals that were scored against us [Saturday].

Chris Tanev, who missed seven games with a groin strain, is expected to return today and was paired with Michael Del Zotto at practice Monday. His strong positional play, ability to quickly retreat into his own zone and trigger the transition will be crucial.

“Today is the best it [groin] has felt so far and it’s definitely a good step potentially [to play],” said Tanev. “We’ll see in the morning skate and I’ve been eager for a while.”

If Tanev does play, he’ll have to shoulder a load in dealing with the imposing Getzlaf and Kesler.

“They were a good team without them and they always play us tough — big and strong guys,” added Tanev. “And Kes plays hard every game, no matter what the situation is.”

Said Gagner: “When you talk about the forecheck, it’s hard for other teams to get one against us because Tanny does such a good job going back and taking a hit and making a play.”

Added Canucks coach Travis Green: “He’s just a smart twoway player. He competes hard, plays to win and wants to win. And the more guys you have like that the better.

“There are similarities with the Ducks and Kings — heavier teams and a heavier game — and this is going to be another test and a hard test and a good challenge.”

The situation for the Canucks to keep from slipping further down the standings is simple:

Find a second wave of attack at even strength, tighten up defensively, be better on the penalty kill and keep creating on the power play. And tie up those Ducks centres.

“It’s never easy playing good teams, but if we play our game we know we can play with the best and we’ve shown that,” said Henrik. “But it’s those five or 10 minutes where we miss assignments and we lose games.”