ANAHEIM, Calif. — Ryan Johansen stared downward, dejectedly removing his wrist tape and barely breaking his gaze from the floor as he fielded questions.

The Predators center clearly was disappointed after the team's 5-3 loss Sunday to the Anaheim Ducks in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals. But the mention of Ducks center Ryan Kesler induced a pointed response.

“His family and friends watching him play, I don’t know how you cheer for a guy like that,” said a flustered Johansen. "It just doesn’t make sense how he plays the game. I’m just trying to go out there and play hockey, and it sucks when you’ve got to pull a stick out of your groin every shift."

The most critical individual matchup in this series always was going to be Johansen, Nashville’s top playmaker and leading playoff scorer, versus Kesler, Anaheim’s professional irritant.

The spotlight on those two through the rest of the third round will be blinding.

“I play the game hard,” Kesler told Sportsnet in a television interview. “Obviously he doesn’t like that."

Kesler is one of the NHL's most effective shutdown specialists. He is a five-time finalist for the Selke Trophy, the annual award given to the league's best defensive forward.

Part of what makes Kesler successful in that capacity is his willingness to not only push the proverbial envelope, but tear it apart.

Kesler has glued himself to Johansen, agitating him at every opportunity.

Before Sunday's opening faceoff, Kesler jabbed at Johansen with his stick blade, forcing the latter to reset. They butted heads and traded verbal barbs whenever they lined up against each other. Kesler later appeared to daze Johansen with an apparent elbow.

"He thinks he's getting under guys’ skin,” Johansen said. "I don't know what he's doing. Really, I can't put a finger on it."

Predators coach Peter Laviolette said that Johansen was “completely composed” Sunday, which isn’t an incorrect assessment.

Johansen had two points in the first period to reach 13 this postseason, equaling the Predators’ record in a single playoff year.

He has four points in two games, all at even strength. The two centers that Kesler primarily surveilled in the first two rounds, Calgary’s Sean Monahan and Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, combined for three even-strength points in 11 games.

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With the Predators having the benefit of the last line change for the next two games at Bridgestone Arena, the possibility of Laviolette separating Johansen's line from Kesler's will be worth monitoring.

“If (Johansen) goes into the office with Peter Laviolette and Peter Laviolette says, ‘You want me to try to keep you away from him?’ He’s going to say no because he is a guy that wants to have this," NBC analyst and former NHL player Jeremy Roenick said on the network's post-game show. "When you’re a guy that's young and everyone is expecting a lot out of you, an offensive guy that is leading the team right now, you want every aspect (of the) challenge that you possibly can.

"(Johansen) didn’t back down. He was going right after Kesler. Kesler just continued to stay strong, and has been in this situation a lot more than Ryan Johansen has.”

How Johansen handles the pressure will have a measurable impact on this series and the Predators' Stanley Cup plans.

“There’s not a lot of room for your own personal assault on somebody because you don’t like the way you got played,” Laviolette said before Game 2. "You’ve really got to try to keep everything in check.”

Reach Adam Vingan at avingan@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamVingan.

PREDATORS vs. DUCKS

Series tied 1-1

All games broadcast on 102.5-FM

Game 1: Nashville 3, Anaheim 2 (OT)

Game 2: Anaheim 5, Nashville 3

Tuesday: at Nashville, 7 p.m. (NBC SN)

Thursday: at Nashville, 7 p.m. (NBC SN)

Saturday: at Anaheim, 6:15 p.m. (NBC)

x — May 22: at Nashville, 7 p.m. (NBC SN)

x — May 24: at Anaheim, 8 p.m. (NBC SN)

x — if necessary