Ryan Johansen, Ryan Kesler Feud Elevates Intensity of Predators vs. Ducks Series

After the Nashville Predators jumped out to a 2-0 lead and then regained a 3-2 advantage later in Game 2, the Anaheim Ducks managed to score three straight goals and level the Western Conference Finals series at one game apiece.

This Stanley Cup Playoffs adventure has an extra level of intensity thanks to the feud between Ryan Johansen and Ryan Kesler, and the Predators center got the best of that rivalry on this particular play.

See ya later, @ryanjohansen92. His 13 points tie the @predsnhl playoff record. #StanleyCup

A post shared by NHL (@nhl) on May 14, 2017 at 5:21pm PDT

But despite that pretty goal, Johansen was still upset over the way the officials called the game within the game between he and Kesler.

And the Ducks’ gritty two-way forward offered a pretty stern retort to Johansen’s claims in a postgame interview.

So, it seems as if these two guys are intent on making this a quarrel worth watching when the on-ice matchup presents itself.

Given the equal level of talent between these two teams, perhaps the Kesler-Johansen feud will be the determining factor on which team advances to play for the Cup.