Three Things to Hope for in Nashville Predators’ Final Preseason Games

Let’s See the O’Reilly/Forsberg Combo Have Themselves a Game

We haven’t really seen the full potential of the Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly duo just yet, and that’s totally fine. Rome wasn’t built in a day, am I right?

Seriously, I would be elated if Forsberg and O’Reilly can put together a wire-to-wire dominant showing against the Hurricanes. Feeding off each other, connecting on passes and ultimately connecting on some goals.

I’m not being overdramatic when I say that O’Reilly has the potential to bring Forsberg to the next level of being a reliable 60-plus point scorer, at minimum. But Forsberg has never had a reliable top line center to work with, aside from the glory days of the “JoFA Line” with Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson.

Forsberg had nine shots on goal in the most recent preseason outing against Tampa Bay, while O’Reilly got a primary assist on a Philip Tomasino goal. A positive sign on both fronts.

That brings Forsberg’s preseason total through two games to 16 shots on goal. And additional chances where he missed the net. Encouraging that he’s getting this many looks, and as he shakes the rust off from being out of game action since February, he’ll start burying some of these.

However, we’ve yet to see a direct scoring connection between O’Reilly and Forsberg. I feel it’s coming soon, so let’s see it happen in highlight reel fashion at the expense of the Hurricanes and watch Predators social media rejoice.