Forsberg's 3 points spark Predators to win against Kraken

NASHVILLE -- Filip Forsberg had a goal and two assists for the Nashville Predators in a 3-1 win against the Seattle Kraken at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.

Ryan O'Reilly and Ryan Ufko also scored for the Predators (31-28-9), who have won consecutive games. Justus Annunen made 25 saves. 

Nashville is tied in points with Seattle and the Los Angeles Kings, with Los Angeles holding the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. 

“We know where we stand with those guys,” O’Reilly said. “… We’re in the fight with them. Definitely an emotional game. We needed to come out strong and have a good start, and I thought we did. The win was exciting. It’s just a massive win for us. We’ve got to continue. It’s not getting any easier, but that’s something hopefully we can build off of and get some momentum here at home.”

Annunen was not supposed to start, but it was announced about an hour before the game that Predators goaltender Juuse Saros was unable to play because of an upper-body injury and is day to day. Nashville recalled goaltender Matt Murray from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League on Thursday, but he didn’t make it to the bench until more than halfway through the game.

“It’s kind of my job to be ready,” Annunen said. “I just tried to do everything the same if I would be playing or not. Of course it’s always like a whole different feeling when you know you’re not supposed to play, but I try to be prepared and do everything as same as possible.” 

Frederick Gaudreau scored, and Joey Daccord made 24 saves for the Kraken (31-28-9), who have lost two in a row and six of eight.

“This time of year it’s tight checking,” Seattle forward Chandler Stephenson said. “Teams aren’t giving up much. It’s kind of playoff hockey, playoff mode right now, especially for teams that are trying to get in. Just try to have a short-term memory and move on.”

Ufko gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 6:14 of the first period, scoring on a one-timer from the point off a pass from Brady Skjei.

Gaudreau tied it 1-1 at 18:40 when he redirected a Stephenson pass in the slot.

“I thought it was one of our better games we’ve played this month to be honest with you,” Kraken coach Lane Lambert said. “I thought we were above. Our structure was good. Our structure was good through the neutral zone. I thought our guys battled. I’m not unhappy with the effort at all. I think we had enough chances to win the hockey game, and we missed the net on some of those. We’ve got to find a way to put it in the back of the net.”

O’Reilly then gave the Predators a 2-1 lead on the power play at 7:11 of the second period. Steven Stamkos took a shot that was deflected by Forsberg, and O’Reilly got to the rebound and beat Daccord from the edge of the crease.

“We’re very appreciative of our crowd,” Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. “They’ve stuck with us. It hasn’t been easy to be a Predator fan with what we went through last year, and you can tell there’s an electricity in the building and it’s back. Tons of credit to them for sticking with us. I think they’ve enjoyed the pushback that we’ve had this year.”

Forsberg scored into an empty net make it 3-1 at 18:10 of the third period with his 30th goal of the season. 

Nashville also won 4-2 at Seattle on March 10.

“They’re kind of playoff games,” Predators captain Roman Josi said. “For us to be able to beat (the Kraken) twice in the last week or 10 days in huge. We’re a young team and we’re learning, and just to be able to get two games like that is huge for our group.”

NOTES: Forsberg has five points (two goals, three assists) in the past two games. He tied Markus Naslund for the second most 30-goal seasons by a Sweden-born player, behind Mats Sundin (13). Forsberg also had his 183rd multipoint game and moved within one of Josi for the Predators record. … Kraken forward Ryan Winterton did not play because of an illness.