The fact that Ryan Johansen has been forced to watch his club from the sidelines hasn't been as hard as he expected.

The Nashville Predators center was ruled out for the remainder of the playoffs following Game 4 of the Western Conference Final after undergoing surgery for acute compartment syndrome.

Since then, the 24-year-old has watched his club win two games to knock out the Anaheim Ducks, but subsequently drop two games to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Cup Final.

The Predators surely miss having Johansen in the lineup, but the star forward admits it's been easy to watch his team from afar simply because they have fared so well in his absence.

"Watching the game, obviously I really want to be out there, just being a part of the team and stuff," Johansen said during a press conference on Thursday.

"Which I've said to everyone that asked me that question, it's been a lot easier than I thought. The identity and the character of our team, how we're built, it's been pretty easy to watch because, I mean, these guys, every time they're on the ice, they throw everything they've got. They're not going to stop for anything."

More specifically, Johansen said he's been blown away by the play of some of the team's unsung heroes.

"As I've been sitting on the couch basically for the last two weeks, it's been really inspiring watching guys like Freddy Gaudreau, Austin Watson, Pontus Aberg, just elevating their games," Johansen said.

As for how the injury is doing now, Johansen admits it's been a slow process, but that it continues to get better with each passing day.

Meanwhile, he elaborated on how exactly he suffered the injury, noting that it came during the Predators' overtime loss in Game 4 against the Ducks.

"It just happened really fast. I mean, the second period, knee hit my leg," Johansen said. "As it happened, I was just like, Oh, that's going to hurt in the morning. It was kind of one of those.

"As the period went along, third period went along, by the time I was in overtime, I could barely stand up. Ended up scoring, but right before they scored I was about to go up to coach and be like, 'Coach, I feel like I'm going to hurt the team out here right now.' The game ended up ending. But it got pretty bad pretty quick."

Johansen is expected to make a full recover in time for next season.

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