Five Questions: Kesler on Ducks' success, depth

The latest edition features Olympic silver medalist and NHL All-Star Ryan Kesler:

Ryan Kesler's first season with the Anaheim Ducks has been rejuvenating for the 30-year-old center.

After a decade with the Vancouver Canucks, including 655 regular-season games, two Presidents' Trophy-winning seasons and a trip to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, Kesler feels his game is where it needs to be, his balance off the ice is better than ever, and his belief in the Ducks as Stanley Cup contenders is strong.

Kesler has 45 points (18 goals, 27 assists) in 74 games heading into Anaheim's game Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Ducks lead the Pacific Division and are in the race for the Presidents' Trophy with 99 points.

"The real test is in playoffs; that's where we all have to show up," Kesler said.

Kesler talked about why he believes in the Ducks, a take on why they've been so good in one-goal games, and dove into some details on his success in Anaheim.

Here are Five Questions with Ryan Kesler:

You've been on some good teams in Vancouver; what can make this team in Anaheim special, or why can it do something special as the 2011 team in Vancouver nearly did?

"The way we come back is one thing. The way we never give up. You see we are down going into the third or down in the third and we find a way to battle back and find a way to win. Other than that, I think just how deep we are every position. Forward, 'D', goalie, you name it we're deep; we have the players to go the distance. But you need a lot of things to go right. You need to stay healthy. You need your special teams going. But those are the similarities I see. When we went on the Cup run in 2011, you look at that team and it's tough to compare the two, but we were good coming from behind that year, we were deep on 'D', deep on offense, deep in the net. This team has the same thing, if not better."

Why are the Ducks so good in one-goal games (29-1-7)?

"I think it's a mindset. We know we can score goals in this room and we know we can come back from two, three, four goals down. I think that's when we play our best hockey, to be honest. We're not holding back, we're just going. We have nothing to lose and we just go after it."

It was difficult for you at the start of the season getting traded, uprooting your family, getting settled and trying to become part of a team that you grew to hate while with the Canucks. Do you feel after all of that, you've become a leader on this team?

Ryan Kesler

Center - ANA

GOALS: 18 | ASST: 27 | PTS: 45
SOG: 190 | +/-: -5

What was it like walking into a new dressing room at the start of the season and trying to get used to something totally new while trying to win games with a new group?

"Obviously the most comfortable you feel is when you're on the ice. It's in between games when you kind of feel out of the loop, when guys are talking and you don't really know what they're talking about. It was awkward for me. I just stayed quiet, saw how the room was. Over time things got easier. I can't really pinpoint a time, but slowly it evolved and I'm one of the boys now."

How about SoCal for you? What has living and playing in Southern California done for you and your career after a decade in a Canadian market?

"It's been amazing. I can just focus on hockey. It doesn't matter how bad you play you can always get away from the game. I think that's the biggest difference I've noticed. If I played a bad game or didn't play up to my standards I can still go relax because it's very easy to get away from the game there. I can go re-energize, re-focus and by the time I get to the rink the next day what happened in that game is not even on my mind anymore."

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