If you as a team are going to go on a crazy run like the Nashville Predators have since the middle of February, you have to get exceptional performances from your best players. Roman Josi has been tremendous and is putting together a case for another Norris Trophy, but let's also talk about what a tear Filip Forsberg has been on.
Forsberg has been everywhere for the Predators offense during the hot streak, whether that be scoring at even strength or on the power play, or close to the net or farther away from it. He has been just as lethal as a puck distributor, and I have seen him have some of the most quality assists in his career this year.
Forsberg's efforts earned him the NHL's third star of the month for March, trailing only Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid. So it is not a stretch to say that he has been one of the league's best players as of late.
He has already tied the Predators' franchise record for goals in a regular season and is near sure to break it, but now has an outside chance at what would be an even bigger milestone for this team.
Forsberg Can Reach New Milestone for Nashville Predators Franchise
Forsberg has 87 points on the regular season, and the Predators have six games left on their schedule. Is it likely that he gets to the 100 points before it ends? No, but is it impossible? Far from it.
To give you an idea of how hot Forsberg has been, the Predators have played 22 games since they began what was their 18-game point streak. He has failed to record a point in only four of contests, and two of them were the second and third games in that stretch.
Overall, that is 34 points in 22 games, and in the month of March, he had 23 points in 13 games. And in 11 of the 22 games, exactly half of them, he has recorded multiple points in a game.
So if Forsberg were to stay on his current pace and not go an inch above or below it, he would record three multi-point games out of the six remaining, and get one point in each of the other three. Getting to the 95-point mark is very attainable for him with how he is playing right now, and he very well might get past it.
Now to reach 100 points, Forsberg needs 13 more of them, so he would need to post at least two points each in five of the games remaining, and three in the other game. That is asking a lot even if he is on fire right now, but even if he does not get there, just the fact that we can have this conversation is encouraging for the Predators, their fans, and Forsberg himself.
Lack of offense has plagued this organization for so many years now, so to have a bonafide offensive talent like him in their system makes life way easier. But this has to be a relief for Forsberg more than anyone else.
As talented as he is, durability has been a concern throuhgout his career, as he has managed to play 82 games in only three seasons since his rookie year. If he were to play the final six games of this season, it would be the first time he has played all 82 of them since 2016-17.
And in particular, last year's injury was brutal for him, and some questioned just how well he could play when he came back from it. It was a concussion that looked awful on the ice when it happened, was proven to be bad since it knocked him out for two months, and was not even the first time he had suffered a concussion in his career.
But that seems like ages ago now, as Forsberg has proven that it is not bothering him, and that great things can happen when he avoids the injury bug. His confidence looks to be at an all-time high, and the Predators can breathe easy knowing that they have a legitimate playmaker to build around for the present and future.