Wyshynski: Why the NHL Thanksgiving standings trend may not continue this season

This is the moment when the Nashville Predators’ top line would be usually counted on to put goals on the board, do something spectacular, be the heart and soul of this team’s offense like it had been for the better part of the previous three rounds, when Filip Forsberg, Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Johansen combined for 30 points in 12 games. Johansen was lost after Game 4 of the Western Conference Final, undergoing emergency surgery for acute compartment syndrome of the left thigh. “Of course,� said Arvidsson, after a pronounced sigh.

Everything that could go wrong for Philadelphia in Game 1 against Pittsburgh did, and the Flyers look to be outmanned against the defending champion Penguins.