Filip Forsberg’s Late Game Heroics for Nashville Predators in Sin City
By Chad Minton
It doesn’t get much more clutch that what Filip Forsberg pulled off with just two seconds left to push the Nashville Predators to overtime against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.
Despite the eventual overtime loss, the Predators had another game where the offense was clicking on all cylinders, and Forsberg showed off his superstar capabilities.
Forsberg flashed into the slot area after Ryan Johansen quickly pushed the puck into the neutral zone area with just 10 seconds left in regulation and down one goal:
Credit to Roman Josi as well for getting it to Forsberg along the boards. Forsberg did the rest by burying a puck past Vegas netminder Logan Thompson. It was an incredibly difficult shot for Forsberg that required some elite skill that we know he possesses in flashes.
Forsberg’s Heroics for the Nashville Predators in Sin City
Forsberg’s hat trick was his ninth of his NHL career, padding his franchise lead in that category over the next closest Predators player, Steven Sullivan with four.
It was Forsberg’s first hat trick since November 2021 when he notched four goals in a 6-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The scoring was opened by Forsberg in this game just 4:45 in when he corralled a loose puck and waited out Thompson before snapping one past the sprawling netminder.
The rally caps were on as the Predators were down 4-2 with time dwindling down and Forsberg would score the next two. To make it 4-3, it was his net front traffic that tipped the puck past Thompson after Ryan McDonagh fired it into the traffice.
Forsberg’s wide range of abilities to score goals was on full display against the Golden Knights.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the storybook ending for Predators fans as the Golden Knights eventually put this game away in overtime skating with an extra attacker on a delayed penalty call. An ending to a truly insane game of twists and turns.
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Forsberg has jumped into the team lead in goals on the season with 14 and is up to 32 in 35 games in 2022-23. In his first year of the new contract he signed over the offseason that will likely keep him with the Nashville Predators for the rest of his career, he’s starting to really turn it up a notch.
The Predators’ postseason hopes are pretty bleak at the moment, but with Forsberg beginning to ignite one of the worst offenses in the NHL, perhaps there’s still a glimmer of hope that this team go begin to gradually climb back up the standings.
Here’s a list of categories that Forsberg leads the Nashville Predators franchise in, with only Josi being the only current player who is even close to him in any of them:
Goals-234
Hat Tricks- 9
Even Strength Goals- 167
Game Winning Goals- 42
Goals Per Game- 0.39
Forsberg is also top-10 in many other categories like games played (8th), assists (5th), points (3rd) and power play goals (2nd).