Forsberg Sets Franchise Goal Record as Preds Beat Maple Leafs

No. 211 for No. 9.
Filip Forsberg set the franchise record for goals scored as the Nashville Predators defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs by a 6-3 final on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result gets the Preds back in the win column and gives them 76 points to remain in the first Wild Card spot in the West.
Tanner Jeannot, Eeli Tolvanen, Mattias Ekholm, Matt Duchene and Yakov Trenin also found the back of the net, but it was Forsberg's marker that proved to be the game-winner on a night that saw the Preds bounce back and do what they do best in front of their home crowd.

Jeannot's 21st of the season - tops among all NHL rookies - gave the Preds a 1-0 lead as the winger sniped a shot past Toronto goaltender Erik Kallgren at the 13:46 mark of the opening frame.
Nashville then went up by two when Tolvanen redirected a Jeremy Davies point shot top shelf for his ninth of the campaign. After Mitch Marner brought the Leafs to within one, a blast from Ekholm regained the two-goal lead for a 3-1 count after 40 minutes.
Auston Matthews brought the Leafs back to within one again, but then, on the power play, Forsberg found a loose puck at the side of the net and did what he has now done on 211 occasions for the Preds.

The goal gave Nashville all the momentum it needed, and shortly thereafter, Forsberg's shot off a 2-on-1 rebounded to Duchene to give the Preds five. Marner got another before the night was done, but Trenin finished things off into the empty net to finish off a Saturday night in Smashville.
Jeannot tied Craig Smith (36 pts) for third on Nashville's all-time list for most points in a season by a rookie. Jeannot is now one point shy of tying Alexander Radulov for second.
Roman Josi is on pace to become the sixth different defenseman in NHL history to record a 100-point season and the first since Brian Leetch in 1991-92.

Saturday Storyline:

Filip Forsberg is now the greatest goal scorer in Predators franchise history.
The record-breaker wasn't overly spectacular - and it didn't come between the legs like Forsberg's 210th on Thursday - but the tap-in on the man advantage was just as important, just as noteworthy and just as gratifying.
That moment - as Forsberg passed David Legwand for the franchise record - helped to finish off a bounceback win for Nashville on Saturday night, a game the Preds couldn't wait to play after a disappointing effort in Philadelphia two nights earlier.
But this Predators team finds ways to respond, and Forsberg put the exclamation point on an evening that won't be forgotten anytime soon.
"It was awesome," Forsberg said of the goal. "It's been a great ride so far. I played with Leggy [David Legwand] for a little bit, so it's obviously cool. On the ice, my first point was his 200th goal. Come a long way since."
"I thought it was a really good game," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. "It was something that we talked about this morning. In situations where we played some games where we haven't played to our identity, I think that our response has been really good."

That response saw Nashville score six against one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference with six different goal scorers contributing on the night. Josi also recorded three assists again - of course - to help the Preds to their 36th win of the season in career game No. 500 for Hynes.
"They are a really good team over there, and I thought we matched them in every category," Ekholm said. "They have their top line, and we gave them a couple of goals, but at the end of the day we managed the game offensively and scored some big goals ourselves. It was a tight game. It's tough to keep Toronto to three goals, but I thought we did a pretty good job of limiting their chances. On the other end, we had some big goals and big plays. We had a really good response from the last game in Philly."
"It was a really good team effort," Tolvanen said. "I think we played really well. Philadelphia wasn't our best, and we knew we needed a bounceback game and needed to respond in the game tonight. I feel like everybody showed up tonight and had a really good game."
That ability to respond has helped the Preds remain in the postseason race all season long, and it's just another reason why they find themselves in a favorable spot with just 20 games to go.

"What I've found out about our group is we don't need a coach to come in and yell to help us play well and play to our capabilities when we don't," Ekholm said. "I think everyone feels it on the plane home. I think everybody feels it the next day. We just come back and correct it. That speaks to the character in the room. We have a lot of young guys, but they've responded in a big way. Our leaders too have done a lot. It's a good mix. We have a lot of proud guys in there that want to play the right way and not have games like in Seattle and Philly. Great job on us to respond."
But tonight ultimately belonged to Forsberg, and those who had a front-row seat to watch history enjoyed the feat just as much as the record-breaker himself.
"I'm really happy for Filip," Hynes said. "He played a great game. He tracked pucks, he was physical, and tonight, if you look at Forsberg's performance, he played the game the right way tonight and it's nice to see him get rewarded. It's obviously a huge accomplishment to set a franchise record for goals, but most importantly, the special part of it is he did it at home with a big goal with a great crowd on a Saturday night. It's great for him, for the fans, the organization, that he was able to accomplish it with a big-time goal and a good win in front of the home crowd."
"It's awesome," Ekholm said. "I've been here for all 211 goals, and he's such a great player. He's one of the high-end snipers in this League. He's just lethal. It's not many guys that can match him… It was just a matter of time."

Highlight of the Night:

They Said It:

Mattias Ekholm on Roman Josi recording three points again:
"[David Rittich] told me. He was knocking me on the shoulder. He's like, 'Does Josi have three again?' What can you say? It's crazy. He's getting it done right now. It's fun to watch."

Notes:

Prior to Saturday's game, the Predators recalled defensemen Jeremy Davies and Matt Tennyson from Milwaukee and placed blueliners Mark Borowiecki and Matt Benning on Injured Reserve. Defensemen Ben Harpur and Philippe Myers, as well as forward Matt Luff, were scratched on Saturday.
John Hynes coached in his 500th career game and his 146th with the Predators. Entering Saturday, Hynes (82-56-7) held the most wins through 145 regular-season games with the club, ahead of both Peter Laviolette (78-46-21) and Barry Trotz (50-77-18).
The Preds will now head out west for a three-game trip, and it begins Monday night in Anaheim against the Ducks before continuing on in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Additionally, the NHL Trade Deadline is set for Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. CT. Stay tuned to NashvillePredators.com and @PredsNHL on Twitter for full coverage.