Forsberg, Preds Face Adversity, Defeat Colorado for Sixth Straight Win

Different players, a new coaching staff, no problem.
FIlip Forsberg scored twice, Colton Sissons had three assists and the Nashville Predators defeated the Colorado Avalanche by a 5-2 final on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result extends Nashville's win streak to six games and bumps them past Colorado in the Central Division with 37 points.
Both clubs dealt with adversity on the evening with players - and coaches - on the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list, including seven players and five coaches on the Nashville side, but others embraced the challenge and led the Preds to their 18th victory of the campaign.

Forsberg's first of the night came in the opening frame as his point shot floated in past Colorado goaltender Pavel Francouz, and the Nashville winger helped to extend that lead in the second stanza when he picked up an assist on Tanner Jeannot's power-play goal on a one-timer from the slot.
The Avalanche converted on a man advantage of their own two minutes later when Mikko Rantanen beat Preds netminder Juuse Saros, but before the frame was out, Forsberg got the two-goal advantage back when his centering pass deflected off the stick of former teammate Samuel Girard and into the cage.

Colorado cut the lead to one again in the final frame, but a power-play snipe from Roman Josi gave the Preds some breathing room once more, and Mattias Ekholm iced it with an empty-netter, his first goal of the season, to finish the night.
Forsberg's 12th and 13th goals of the season came in just his 20th game, the second time Forsberg has had at least 12 goals in his first 20 games played in a season (also 12 in 2018-19). The only other Predators to score as many goals at that stage of a season are Matt Duchene (12 in 2021-22), Viktor Arvidsson (12 in 2018-19) and Jason Arnott (12 in 2008-09).

Thursday Storyline:

The Predators had seven players and five coaches on the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list on Thursday night - and they still found a way.
After returning from a four-game trip, and then having Tuesday's game against Calgary postponed due to a COVID outbreak within the Flames organization, Nashville was hit with their own adversity over the past 48 hours.
By the time the clock struck noon on Thursday, Predators forwards Nick Cousins, Ryan Johansen, Mikael Granlund, Philip Tomasino, Michael McCarron and Matt Luff, as well as defenseman Ben Harpur, were all on the NHL's COVID-19 List. Additionally, Nashville coaches John Hynes, Todd Richards, Dan Lambert, Dan Hinote and Ben Vanderklok were there, too.
Enter reinforcements from Milwaukee.
The Preds recalled forwards Rocco Grimaldi, Cody Glass, Cole Smith, Mathieu Olivier and Kole Sherwood from the Admirals on Thursday, as well as Ads coaches Karl Taylor and Scott Ford. The coaches, along with Admirals General Manager/Predators Assistant GM/Director of Player Development Scott Nichol, handled duties behind the Nashville bench on Thursday night - and the Predators won their sixth straight.

"This team has got the right energy, the right mentality and we just came in and tried to not get in the way; make sure we just rode the wave that they're on right now," Taylor said. "[We] had a few things here and there, make sure they had direction, make sure we executed the game plan properly, and so we were just trying to assist. But the coaching staff here has done a wonderful job with a great group of guys. You can just tell the energy and how they care about each other, how they didn't allow anything that occurred today [to phase them]."
"It's huge," Josi said of the win. "I could even see it at the end of the game, how happy we were to get the win. It was obviously a tough couple days. Even today, there's a lot going on, same thing for Colorado... Obviously, a lot of things that were out of our control, but I'm proud of our team and proud of the way we played. We came in and played well and got the win for our two coaches that got called up… That's huge for them and huge for our team. So, I'm really proud of how we handled today."
Even before the sun rose on Thursday, the Predators knew they were up for a challenge. Johansen was the first to enter COVID-19 protocol on Sunday in New York as he sat out a 1-0 win over the Rangers. Then, after returning to Nashville, the Preds learned their game against Calgary on Tuesday would be postponed.
On Wednesday came five more positive player tests for the Predators, as well as six additional positives among the team's traveling party, before Cousins and Hinote tested positive on Thursday morning.
Colorado wasn't immune either, and they dealt with positive tests from starting goaltender Darcy Kuemper and star defenseman Cale Makar prior to puck drop. In fact, Nashville resident Dustin Smith, who serves as Nashville's practice goalie from time to time, was Colorado's backup netminder on Thursday night.
Even so, both teams played, and the Predators came together to collect two more points.
"That just proves the depth of this organization," Forsberg said. "Obviously, we're missing some key players, but guys are stepping up, not just from Milwaukee, but in the lineup as well. Guys are being put in new roles and they're taking the opportunities and making the best out of them. It was fun to play tonight."
Forsberg was one of those leaders who helped take charge for Nashville, and his line with Sissons and Jeannot delivered. Sissons led the Preds with 25 minutes of ice time on the night to go with his three helpers, and with Jeannot's goal and assist, the trio combined for three goals and eight points on the evening.
"It was fun," Forsberg said of playing with his new linemates. "It was great to see how hard those two guys work every day, and the way they contribute in so many ways on this team is incredible. They play hard minutes on the penalty kill, they finish every hit and they make life miserable for the other team, and when I saw that we were going to play together, I was excited. Just to try to get on that and try to feed off their energy and kind of do my thing mixed in with theirs, and I thought all three of us had a good game. We definitely want to build on that tomorrow."

The Predators would like to do the same as a whole, and they'll face the Blackhawks on Friday night in Chicago with a chance to extend their win streak despite the circumstances.
But as Taylor said following the game, they simply did what they do as coaches and players - and with some help from the Nashville staff at home, the mission was accomplished.
"Our plan is to move forward with the team," Taylor said. "We will watch our video, we will run this like it's our team, obviously with a lot of help and a lot of suggestions from the current staff, but we'll go through the business like we always do, Scott and I, and make sure we're preparing for Chicago tomorrow.
"But it was a joy to be here and to work with them. And so for me, the group is a fantastic group, and there should be an exciting time moving forward. Obviously, there's always challenges coming, especially with what everyone's dealing with, but it's a very fun group to be around and it was a joy to be here today."

Highlight of the Night:

They Said It:

Head Coach Karl Taylor on taking in the experience of being behind an NHL bench for the first time:
"To be honest with you, the majority of the team in there has spent time with me as their coach in Milwaukee. Not just the call-up guys that filled in and did a great job for us today, but a lot of the other players have come through. I was very comfortable. It was like putting on a nice pair of shoes that you've had in the garage for a long time, because we know the guys, we know their tendencies. It was also very exciting to write Roman Josi's name on the card as well. That was a new experience for me. Very exciting time. And I think overall knowing the players and having that opportunity made it very comfortable and very easy just to do what we do."

Notes:

Filip Forsberg recorded his 24th career three-point game, surpassing Martin Erat for the most in Predators history.
Roman Josi (29 GP) required the fewest games of his career to hit 10 goals in a season, besting his previous mark of 33 contests in 2019-20.
Josi scored his 40th career power-play goal. Only Shea Weber (80), Filip Forsberg (50), Kimmo Timonen (46), Martin Erat (42) and Craig Smith (42) have tallied more on the man advantage for the Predators.
Prior to Thursday's game, the Preds recalled forwards Rocco Grimaldi, Cody Glass, Cole Smith, Mathieu Olivier and Kole Sherwood from Milwaukee. Forwards Nick Cousins, Ryan Johansen, Mikael Granlund, Philip Tomasino, Michael McCarron and Matt Luff, as well as defenseman Ben Harpur, are all on the NHL's COVID-19 List. Preds coaches John Hynes, Todd Richards, Dan Lambert, Dan Hinote and Ben Vanderklok are also on the list.
Milwaukee Admirals coaches Karl Taylor and Scott Ford, as well as Admirals GM Scott Nichol, served as Predators coaches on Thursday night.
The Predators are scheduled to play the second half of a back-to-back tomorrow night when they face the Blackhawks in Chicago (7:30 p.m. CT), the start of a two-game trip. Nashville will then take on the Hurricanes on Sunday evening in Raleigh.