Pronger to see some pals

Before he faces all of Edmonton next month, Chris Pronger will at least have the issue of facing his ex-teammates out of the way.

The reception Pronger gets tonight, at least off the ice, when the Ducks play host to the Oilers should be far better than the one he’s expected to receive Nov. 28 when he returns to the city where he was revered and then reviled.

That time will come. For now, it’s more about renewing acquaintances with a group of players he bonded with last season as the Oilers made their improbable run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals.

“It’ll be a little different obviously, having just played with those guys four months ago,” Pronger said Tuesday. “Obviously, you’ve got to set all that aside, go out and play the game and win.”

Three days after the Oilers lost the Cup to the Carolina Hurricanes, Pronger formally requested a trade for personal reasons. The trade came July 3 when the Ducks sent winger Joffrey Lupul, defenseman Ladislav Smid and three draft picks to Edmonton in exchange for the star defenseman.

Pronger said he received support from Oilers teammates.

“A lot of them understood and could understand the situation that I was in,” he said. “They wished me the best. And certainly, I did [them] as well. It was a pleasure playing with those guys.”

Pronger has a goal and three assists in his first eight games with the Ducks. He is averaging nearly 27 minutes -- second to captain Scott Niedermayer -- and has a plus-three rating on his shifts.

The biggest impact Pronger has made is on the power play, where the Ducks have 10 goals and are converting at a 24.4% clip.

Coach Randy Carlyle said the defenseman is a “work in progress” in terms of meshing his talents within the system.

“He’s done everything that’s asked of him,” Carlyle said. “I understand there was some criticism directed toward him last year [about] the beginning of the year. We have no reason to do that here in this situation.”

In grading his play, Pronger said, “Pretty average, I think. I think there’s obviously a lot more that I can do. At the end of the day, we’re winning hockey games. That’s all you’re really trying to do.”

The Ducks are more concerned with changing their fortunes against the Oilers, who won all four regular-season meetings and then won the Western Conference finals in five games.

“They owned us last year,” forward Teemu Selanne said. “We have to make sure that it won’t happen again.”

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TONIGHT

vs. Edmonton, 7, FSN Prime Ticket

Site -- Honda Center.

Radio -- 830.

Records -- Ducks 6-0-2; Oilers 6-2-0.

Record vs. Oilers (2005-06) -- 0-3-1.

Update -- Throughout his career, Selanne has done well against Edmonton, scoring 72 points in 58 games. Former Duck Petr Sykora is off to a strong start with the Oilers. Sykora has a team-leading six goals.

Tickets -- (877) 945-3946.

eric.stephens@latimes.com