Filip at 500: Forsberg Continues to Climb Franchise Leaderboards

After a 3-0 shutout of the Ottawa Senators on Monday, the Nashville Predators are riding a season-long four-game win streak and six-game point streak (5-0-1). While there is plenty of credit to go around for Nashville's recent surge, one name looms large: Filip Forsberg.
The Swedish winger has not only found the scoresheet in five of his last six games; he also leads Nashville in points this season with 36 (16g-20a), and his 16 goals are also a team high. He has 32 points (14g-18a) in his last 32 games dating back to Oct. 22 vs. Philadelphia. He's recorded four three-point games in that time frame - Oct. 27 vs. St. Louis (3a), Nov. 1 at Edmonton (1g-2a), Dec. 30 at Anaheim (1g-2a) and Dec. 31 at Vegas (3g). His 34 three-point games are the most in Predators history, and he now owns the second-most multi-point games (121) in franchise history.

When asked what has been the driving force behind his recent hot streak, Forsberg himself struggled to find the words.
"It's hard to explain," he said. "I wish I could bottle that feeling up."
With his second of three goals on Dec. 31 at Vegas, Forsberg became the third player in Predators history to reach the 500-point milestone in Nashville's OT loss to the Golden Knights. Earlier in the season, Forsberg passed Martin Erat (481) and moved into sole possession of third place on the Predators' all-time points list on Nov. 8 at Seattle.
Forsberg also made waves across the NHL in the final week of 2022, earning honors as one of the league's "Three Stars" for the week ending Jan. 1. He led the NHL in goals (5) and points (tie, 5g-2a-7pts) across three contests to power the Predators to a 1-1-1 week to close out the calendar year. He scored once in Nashville's Dec. 27 loss to Dallas before registering back-to-back three-point performances on the road. It marked the second time in Forsberg's career that he has posted three points in consecutive team games, following a three-game run from Feb. 21-25, 2017 (7g-2a-9pts).

"I think just after the [holiday] break I came back with a little more energy," Forsberg said. "I think the whole team has been playing a little bit better… We've been attacking the game a little bit more. It's been working well."
Forsberg, who established career highs in goals (42), assists (42) and points (84) in 2021-22, has made it a point over the last two seasons to try to diversify his offensive toolbox - in other words, to become an even bigger threat by scoring in a variety of different ways.
"He has really played to the identity that gives him a chance to be really successful," Head Coach John Hynes said after Forsberg earned NHL First Star of the Week honors. "He was fast. I thought he played with a lot of speed and power. And I think when you look at the way he generated offense, it's something that we talk with him quite a bit about. He had rebound goals, net front goals, he shot the puck in the net, and that's the style of player that gives them the best chance. He's a guy that can create offense in multiple ways. And usually when he gets up and running, you can see that the puck goes in the net in different ways, and it's nice to see."
Perhaps one of the best displays of Forsberg's diversified offensive approach came in Nashville's Dec. 31 overtime loss to Vegas. He scored in the first before tallying twice in the third to force overtime, notching his eighth career NHL hat trick.

"He's really made a big effort to be better at the net front," Hynes said. "In our conversations he says, hey, if I can get six or seven goals in that area of the ice, that's going to add to my totals and add something into my game that I feel can make me more productive… and it's good to see. I think when you get rewarded for doing the right things, that's really what gets him going."
Forsberg, who points to his career-best 2021-22 season as the turning point for his offensive production, is quick to give credit to the rest of his Predators teammates for generating scoring chances and allowing his game to evolve even further.
"As the player I am, I try to take a lot of pride in that," Forsberg said. "I try to play hard and obviously to create offense in different ways. "I think our team game has been better for the last little bit, and obviously the team's success will drive individual success as well for the most part. I just have a lot of gratitude to the guys around the team and hope to keep staying with it."
After playing on a number of different line combinations throughout the first half of the season, Forsberg has spent the entirety of Nashville's six-game point streak dating back to Dec. 30 at Anaheim playing on the top line with center Juuso Parssinen and right wing Colton Sissons - a development that appears to have fueled his recent surge.
"I think just the work ethic of those two guys is awesome," Forsberg said of his linemates. "[Sissons] has been the foundation of this game for as long as he's been here. He's been the hardest working guy for our team almost every year, and he's got a lot of skill too. That's not necessarily appreciated enough in my opinion… [Parssinen] has been great too since he got called up. They're both big bodies, both great skaters and I just try to kind of make it easy for them out there as well."

The Predators will look to extend their point streak to seven games Wednesday as they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on the fourth stop of their five-game road trip against Eastern Conference opponents. With their red-hot left wing leading the way, the Preds are confident in their team's production heading into the matchup.
"Sometimes when something's a little bit stagnant, or you're in a little bit of a rut, sometimes you don't just come right out of it," Hynes said. "As players and coaches, we feel like it's getting better as we're working on it. There's more production. There's more chances. We're more threatening… and Filip was certainly a driver in that."