Nashville Predators at Vancouver Canucks: Three Factors that Secured GM2 Win
By Chad Minton
Forsberg Delivers in Clutch Time
The superstars have to make superstar plays in big moments. That's what Filip Forsberg did when he found a loose puck a little over six minutes into the 2nd period, and the Canucks just gave him free reign to get in close on DeSmith.
Forsberg was under the spotlight to step up his game after being held mostly quiet in the Game 1. He did have an assists in Game 1, but he was held to only three shots on goal and 0.09 Expected Goals.
On this goal, his 30th career playoff, Forsberg didn't hesitate. He didn't overthink it and he didn't pass the puck away hoping for someone else to score the clutch goal. He took it into his own hands and that's what superstars do in these moments.
Filip Forsberg shows off his hands and tallies a beauty in tight, doubling Nashville's lead to 2!#Preds pic.twitter.com/xe8ceAd7fl
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) April 24, 2024
With the series shifting back to Nashville for the next two games, Forsberg has to find another gear to help get this offense into more offensive zone time and more quality shots on DeSmith. I will be very surprised if Forsberg and his top linemates of Ryan O'Reilly and Gus Nyquist don't have a breakout performance in Game 3 or 4. Or better yet, in both.
Coming into these playoffs, Forsberg was on a bit of a scoring drought in playoff games. He had just one goal in the 2022 four-game sweep to the Avalanche, and in the six-game eliminated against the Hurricanes in 2021, Forsberg had just three points.