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Ducks make personnel moves, praise realignment plan

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Some news and notes from the Ducks’ morning skate in preparation for Tuesday’s game against the Kings at Honda Center:

--The Ducks made a few personnel moves, activating goaltender Dan Ellis (groin) and winger George Parros (eye surgery) and sending goalie Jeff Deslauriers back to Syracuse of the American Hockey League. In addition, they called up center Nick Bonino from Syracuse and lost forward Ben Maxwell on waivers to Winnipeg.

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Coach Bruce Boudreau, still seeking his first win since replacing Randy Carlyle last Thursday, said Parros would be a game-time decision. He also said Bonino wouldn’t play against the Kings, who won the teams’ first two meetings this season.

--Boudreau said he’s still getting up to speed and learning about his players. He held a long meeting after the skate Tuesday but said it was game-specific and geared toward the Kings.

“We are still catching up. [Monday] was sort of catching up and learning what we’re trying to get done here,” he said. “Today is all about L.A. and how to try to beat them.”

--Among the players Boudreau said he was learning about is winger Matt Beleskey, who’s expected to play on a line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

“When you’re in the East you don’t hear about Matt Beleskey and you don’t hear too much about Andrew Cogliano, even though he’s a Toronto boy and played in Edmonton, where you pretty well hear hockey 24/7,” said Boudreau, who previously coached the Washington Capitals.

“But you don’t hear about those guys and [Maxime] Macenauer, I didn’t know at all who he was until I got here. It’s intriguing to see what they can and can’t do, and that takes a little bit of time.”

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--Winger Bobby Ryan said he liked the realignment plan that was approved Monday by the NHL’s Board of Governors, a reconfiguration that will divide teams among four conferences — two with eight teams and two with seven teams — and will change the playoff format. He said the new alignment should reduce the travel for many teams, a problem in the West.

“We’re obviously a team that has some tough, challenging road trips. I’m all for it,” he said. “It should be interesting. Maybe a shakeup is just what we need.

“I do like the fact that you get to play every team in a home-and-home series. I think that’s important to establish rivalries and to keep those things fresh in people’s minds. Sometimes games go forgotten when it’s been so long between two teams playing.”

Boudreau also said he likes the new setup.

“I think it will create great rivalries and it makes it an awful lot easier for the teams in the West to play in the same time zone,” he said.

‘Same thing with the Central and the Eastern teams. It’s going to be really tough to make the playoffs, but it’s not a walk in the park. This is what sports is all about. I think they did a great job.”

Check back later for coverage of the Kings-Ducks game at www.latimes.com/sports

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-- Helene Elliott

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