Nashville’s First Line Pulls It Off; Forsberg Nets OT Winner

The Nashville Predators found a way to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in overtime. Filip Forsberg netted his fourth power-play goal and first overtime winner this year. Viktor Arvidsson snagged his 13th goal of the year.

Nashville Key Stats

Goals

Colton Sissons, Filip Forsberg (2), Viktor Arvidsson

Assists

Kevin Fiala, Mattias Ekholm (2), Roman Josi, Ryan Johansen (2), P.K. Subban, Calle Jarnkrok

Chicago Key Stats

Goals

Alex DeBrincat, Jonathon Toews, Artem Anisimov

Assists

Patrick Kane (2), Erik Gustafsson, Marcus Kruger, Carl Dahlstrom, Duncan Keith

What Happened

Colton Sissons opened up the scoring at 6:49. Kevin Fiala retrieved the chip pass in the corner from Mattias Ekholm, and Sissons buried the no-look feed for his ninth goal of the year. Alex DeBrincat later responded on the power play at 17:51. Viktor Arvidsson gave Nashville the lead right back at 17:59, and the Predators went into first intermission with a one goal lead.

Filip Forsberg made his presence known in the second period, and it finally paid off on the power play. At 16:26, he sniped one through Colin Delia from the top of the face-off circle. Jonathon Toews kept the game at a one-goal deficit, as he fired one of Pekka Rinne’s blocker at 19:40.

Chicago tied the game with a late third period goal thanks to Artem Anisimov. Anticipating a neutral zone clear, Arvidsson vacated the defensive zone, leaving Anisimov uncovered. He went right to the slot, and roofed another Patrick Kane feed at 17:39.

Ryan Johansen won the draw to start overtime play, and Nashville maintained possession the entire time. Forsberg did the rest, as he shook off Chicago’s defenders and beat Delia a second time. Nashville picked up another win, moving to 27-15-3.

Looking Forward

Nashville’s top line is back. Forsberg, Arvidsson, and Johansen all played a part in generating offense, as they combined for three goals and a secondary assist in each of the goal scored. Of the 37 shots on goal, the three skaters owned 18 of them.

With the exception of Roman Josi and P.K. Subban, the defensemen did not record a shot on goal. The forwards are starting to shoot more, and that’s exactly what Nashville needs right now. That’s not to say they’re not contributing- Ekholm, Josi, and Subban combined for four assists.

Despite both skaters missing a quarter of the season, Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg are somehow still mathematically on track for 37 goals. Is that realistic? Probably not- they’ll eventually cool off. However, it wouldn’t be crazy to state both of them could score more than 25 goals before the playoffs begin.

Colton Sissons has officially matched his goal totals from last year. He only needs eight more points to match his career point totals. It’s safe to say Sissons has become apart of the core of the Predators and their functionality.

Mattias Ekholm has picked up seven points in four games, adding up to 32 points. He only needs two more to match his career point totals. The most underrated defenseman in the league has subtly been the most productive defenseman for the Predators.

Pekka Rinne has allowed three or more goals in four of his last five starts. He has done a phenomenal job, but he needs some rest. Juuse Saros has allowed only three goals in his last four starts- maybe give the backbone of the team a day off?

Also, Nashville is still missing Kyle Turris, and they’re winning. They have depth, but that statement is entirely dependent on who isn’t hurt over who is.

-Jack Woods covers the Nashville Predators and the Central Division for PenaltyBoxRadio.com and FullPressCoverage.com. You can follow Jack on Twitter at @jack_woods15 and the Full Press Predators at @FPC_Predators