Filip Forsberg scores once, Predators defeat Capitals

NASHVILLE-- Filip Forsberg scored once and had two assists for the Nashville Predators in a 5-2 win against the Washington Capitals at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
Forsberg, who had a hat trick in his prior two games, is the first NHL player with seven goals in a three-game span since Michael Grabner did it for the New York Islanders from Feb. 10-13, 2011.
"It's always fun to score goals, especially when we win games," Forsberg said. "It definitely feels good. Just [have] to try to keep working hard."

WATCH: All Capitals vs. Predators highlights
Roman Josi scored twice, and Ryan Johansen had three assists for the Predators (30-22-9), who passed the St. Louis Blues for third place in the Central Division. Juuse Saros made 24 saves.
The Capitals (41-13-7), who defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 on Friday for their 13th straight home win, are 16-8-6 on the road.
Josi tied it 1-1 at 1:56 of the second period on a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle. Forsberg made a cross-ice pass to set up Josi, who beat Capitals goaltender Philipp Grubauer.
"It's the best team in the League, and I thought we played a pretty good game," Josi said. "[Saros] was great in net. It's definitely a win that gives us confidence. It's always nice to beat a team like that and definitely gives us some confidence going forward."

Forsberg gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at 8:54 of the second period on a slap shot from the right faceoff circle. Viktor Arvidsson made a drop pass from below the circle, and Forsberg scored his 23rd goal of the season.
Mike Fisher made it 3-1 at 11:57 of the second period on the power play. P.K. Subban passed the puck to Ryan Ellis, who directed a shot-pass to Fisher for his 15th goal.
Josi made it 4-1 at 12:07 of the third period on the power play. Johansen won the faceoff back to Josi, whose slap shot beat Grubauer for his 11th of the season.
Arvidsson scored his 20th goal, into an empty net, with 52 seconds left to make it 5-2.

Tom Wilson gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 1:12 of the first period on a tap in for his sixth goal, second in two games. Evgeny Kuznetsov made it 4-2 at 17:03 of the third period.
"I thought we did a real good job in the first period," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "We didn't give them really any chances. I thought we really manned it quite well."

Goal of the game

Josi snuck behind the defense and Forsberg hit him with a backdoor pass for his first goal. Josi had a wide-open net and beat Grubauer before he could get his stick across the crease.

Save of the game

Saros made a save on Justin Williams in the first period on a one-timer from the slot. Williams got the shot off and had a follow-up attempt while the puck was in Saros' pads.

Unsung performance of the game

Ryan Ellis knocked down a clearing attempt by the Capitals to keep the puck in the zone on the play that led to Forsberg's goal.

Highlight of the game

Fisher's goal was a tic-tac-toe play he finished on the glove side of Grubauer. Subban started the play at the point, and Fisher redirected Ellis' pass before Grubauer could react.

They said it

"He's a shooter, he's got to get pucks to the net. I think with [T.J. Oshie] and them with their line when they're going, they're in real tight quarters offensively. Off the rush, they can make plays. Right now they're getting pretty good coverage. [Ovechkin] is a little off, a little bit off. Players will go through that. [Ovechkin] is a little streaky when you look at his past. It wouldn't surprise me if he got 10 goals in the next five games. That's how he operates." - Capitals coach Barry Trotz on Alex Ovechkin not having a shot on goal
"I was waiting for Filip to shoot too. I think everybody in the building was waiting for him to unload it, and he just made an unbelievable play. It was good timing by Roman to hit the backdoor pocket like that. I think because it was Filip and because of the noise around him right now, just one look at the net and the goalie had to freeze on it too. That left Roman a lot of net to shoot at." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette on Filip Forsberg's pass that led to Roman Josi's goal

Need to know

Forsberg was trying to become the first NHL player to score a hat trick in three consecutive games. … Ovechkin did not have a shot on goal for the second time in three games, and third time in seven, after having one in 315 straight games. … Capitals defensemen Brooks Orpik (lower body) and Matt Niskanen (lower body) and forward T.J. Oshie (upper body) are expected to rejoin them Tuesday against the New York Rangers. … Josi has six goals in his past eight games.

What's next

Capitals: At the New York Rangers on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, SN1, SNO, SNP, MSG, CSN-DC+, NHL.TV)
Predators: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday (5 p.m. ET; SN360, FS-TN, NHL.TV)