Forsberg Tallies Twice, Preds Beat Canadiens for Third-Straight Win

Four goals in the second period - including a pair from Filip Forsberg - helped the Nashville Predators cruise past the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.
The 4-2 victory pushes Nashville's winning streak to three in a row, a mark they've hit three times under head coach John Hynes. Most importantly, the two points place the Predators into the Western Conference's first Wild Card, at least for the moment.

"I really liked our mental game tonight," Hynes said. "We really came into this game ready to play, and ready to play the right way. I thought we had a very good first period… In the second, we got rewarded for it."
"Great effort, top to bottom," Preds forward Ryan Johansen said. "When they had their push backs, we needed [goaltender Juuse Saros] to start making big saves for us again. We came here and got the job done and got the points we needed."

Saros saw his shutout streak come to an end on Tuesday, but not before he ended up with the second-longest such streak in franchise history at 181:07. With the first two victories of the winning streak coming by 2-0 and 1-0 scores over the Dallas Stars, there's little doubt Saros deserves much of the credit for the Predators' recent run.
"It's been unbelievable," Forsberg said of Saros's streak. "By that point, it's almost felt like it's just going to keep going and going. He's really stepped up for us."

"Very impressive," Hynes said of Saros. "I really liked the way he gathered himself after losing the shutout like that. One goes in, two go in, and the floodgates [could] open, but I just think he really settled in, and he was a big part of keeping it at two later in the game. I really like where he's at mentally and the consistency level and the mental toughness."
The game's opening 20 minutes were scoreless, but the second stanza saw the visitors score four consecutive against Carey Price. Nashville's first of the night came less than a minute into the period, when Johansen converted from the slot, and then Calle Jarnkrok made it 2-0 less than three minutes later.

Later, on the power play, Forsberg sniped home his 20th of the season, and before the frame was out, he added another to tie Shea Weber for second on the team's all-time goals list with 166. Forsberg also became the first player in franchise history to record six consecutive 20-goal seasons.

"It was a good, solid effort," Forsberg said of the win. "Overall, a good win. Nice to get the road trip started the right way."
Saros's bid for a third consecutive shutout ended 2:45 into the final period when Artturi Lehkonen whacked a bounce off the endboards and into the net. Lukas Vejdemo then cut the visitor's lead to 4-2 with roughly half of the third period remaining, but the Predators never lost their multi-goal lead.
"I didn't think we had a great start to the third period, but after the timeout, I think we gathered ourselves," Hynes said. "Juice made some good saves in the end, so I think all in all, I really liked our mental preparation, liked the game overall. I think we deserved the win, and we're ready to move on to Toronto."
A three-point night for Forsberg and 32 saves for Saros boosted the Predators to 2-for-2 to start their five-game road trip. On Thursday, they'll make stop No. 3 in Toronto.
"Every game is huge for us," Josi said. "Every game is like a playoff game. A good start in Dallas, and now here in Montreal with a win, so it's huge for us."

Notes:
Josi assisted on Forsberg's first goal as the captain recorded his 48th helper of the season to set a career high.
Calle Jarnkrok and Mikael Granlund were both in the Nashville lineup on Tuesday night after missing Monday's practice. Dan Hamhuis, Yannick Weber, Colin Blackwell and Austin Watson were scratched for the Preds in Montreal.
Nashville's road trip continues on Thursday night in Toronto when they meet the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena (at 6 p.m. CT). The Preds will then play a back-to-back set this weekend in Columbus and Minnesota, before returning home.