ANAHEIM – There is a funny bone in Ryan Kesler. Honest.

Whether in the form of a well-placed video bomb of a teammate or a good-natured rip of another, Kesler has a cutting sense of humor, and those around Ducks center have seen it and felt it.

Cam Fowler has. Ryan Getzlaf knows. Patrick Maroon feels. All three have been “guests” on Kesler’s team-produced “Between Two Zambonis” show, a takeoff of actor Zach Galifianakis’ awkward, dismissive interviews of celebrities for the Funny or Die website.

Consider this brief exchange with his captain:

Kesler: “What’s it like being the second-best Ryan on the team?”

Getzlaf: “Trying to be as good as you.”

Kesler: “Just can’t get there, though.”

“It doesn’t get that much better than him, that’s for sure,” Fowler said, smiling when the topic arises. “He knows what he’s doing. That’s him to a ‘T’.”

See, Kesler isn’t always grouchy. Sure, he is still very much Mr. Grumpy. And the longtime center is deadly serious about his work, which in this life-changing first season with the Ducks now takes him to a place he expected to be when joining them last summer.

The Ducks are in the Western Conference finals and they’re one step away from playing for the Stanley Cup. They’ve got the formidable Chicago Blackhawks to deal with, needing to get four wins against them with their first chance in Game 1 on Sunday at Honda Center.

Kesler, 30, is the player Ducks general manager Bob Murray wanted badly to play against a team like this. He’s a legitimate difference maker for the postseason, and he’s delivered everything they hoped to gain.

Twenty goals and 27 assists were welcomed and appreciated over the 82-game schedule, but not the primary reason why Murray kept talking to Vancouver about acquiring him. He’s got four goals and five assists in the Ducks’ playoff games, but it’s more than that.

Kesler has been dominant in the faceoff circle, winning 63.7 percent of his draws. He’s an essential part of a penalty-killing unit that’s allowed only four power-play goals. And each of his scores has made a difference.

“There’s been a lot of moments like that,” Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Those are the things that probably stand out more for me than anybody scoring three goals or getting booed or any of those things.

“So far, what I’ve seen, he’s upped his game.”

The most direct example came in the Ducks’ four-game sweep of Winnipeg to open the playoffs. Kesler forged a late third-period tie in Game 3 and then put away the Jets with a forceful, two-goal performance in Game 4.

“I think you can take a look at that third period of Game 4 in Winnipeg,” Fowler said. “There it is. To have the ability to be a closer and to step up when your team needs you the most. That’s a huge reason.

“He performs at the highest level when the game’s on the line. He’s proven that all year. That’s why we’ve gone out and got him. He’s been a big player for us.”

There is a much bigger test ahead. Kesler will likely be tabbed to shadow either Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews on the top line or dynamic winger Patrick Kane on their second grouping, depending on the matchup Boudreau wants.

Once having Chicago alongside Anaheim on his list of teams he’d agree to a trade, Kesler knows them well with three straight titanic playoff matchups from 2009-11 while with the Canucks. A 2011 first-round triumph eventually led to a Cup Final appearance against Boston.

“I think you just draw from past experience,” Kesler said. “What was successful against them and how to break them down. What worked, what didn’t work. And share my experience with the coaches and the players.”

There is a mental book that Kesler said he keeps on stars he has to contend with, whether it’s Toews or the Kings’ Anze Kopitar or San Jose’s Joe Thornton. The challenge ahead keeps his competitive juices flowing.

“You got to be better than the guy across from you,” Kesler said. “If you do that, your team’s most likely going to succeed. I think that’s what everybody in this locker room has to do. They have to be better than the guy across from them.

“And if we do that, I like our chances.”

Ducks center Nate Thompson calls the Michigan native a complete player who “doesn’t really have a weakness in his game.” Fowler points out how Kesler has ingratiated himself with his new teammates, some of whom he engaged in fierce battles with for years.

“He doesn’t mind throwing a shot at you once in a while,” Fowler said. “He has no problem taking it either. That’s kind of the relationship he likes to have with you. If he says something to me, he wants me to give it right back to him.

“There’s a lot of that around this locker room that’s for sure.”

But with that, Fowler said Kesler commands respect because he is able to be calm and keep a clear head in meaningful situations. Boudreau notes how the center took to settling the team down on the bench during stressful times in their two series wins.

In other words, there is more than one side to Kesler. It isn’t only grouchy or grumpy.

“It’s my job,” he said. “I take it seriously. Saying that, I joke around with the guys. I think if you ask teammates, they say I might be a little grumpy one day. But I like to joke around and have fun.”

Contact the writer: estephens@ocregister.com