“He's been phenomenal for us all season,” Forsberg said. “Just being able to step up whenever we need him is something that he’s been doing since last year, basically, I feel like he's never played a bad game since he signed with us, and we're really lucky to have him.”
Of course, Friday’s location made the winning performance even sweeter.
“It was special to me a little bit, because [I have] a lot of great memories here,” Lankinen said. “Obviously, I've been here before but haven't gotten the start, so it was fun to stand there for the anthem and kind of soak it all in. It's a special building for sure.”
Top-Line Vincenzo
With Gustav Nyquist out of the lineup on Friday (roster management), rookie forward Luke Evangelista joined Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly on Nashville’s top line and delivered.
Recording an assist on Forsberg’s first and third goals, Evangelista recorded his fourth multi-point performance of the season, a career high, and his first since Nov. 24 vs. St. Louis.
“He's been playing really good hockey as of late and I thought he brought that tonight,” Forsberg said. “He has patience with the puck and he’s battling hard. He's not the biggest guy, but he's strong on the stick. And it’s been great watching him develop throughout the season.”
“I thought he was really good,” Brunette said. “He's trending, especially in the second half of the year, in a really positive way. And he's got the ability to think with those guys and he's got a little moxie to make plays. So, I thought it was a great fit.”
Josi Hits 60
With the primary assist on Jason Zucker’s second-period goal, Nashville’s captain reached 60 assists on the season for the second time in his career. The only other campaign to feature at least 60 helpers from the captain was 2021-22 (73).
The assist additionally extended Josi’s point streak to three games (1g-3a).
UP NEXT
The Predators conclude their back-to-back set and their 2023-24 home schedule on Saturday when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets at Bridgestone Arena. Click here to get tickets.
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CT, with the game set to broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio.
NOTES
- Following Friday’s win, the Predators have now earned at least a point in 27 of their last 31 games against the Blackhawks (23-4-4), holding Chicago to two-or-fewer goals 26 times in that span.
- Per NHL PR, Forsberg became the fifth Swedish-born player in NHL history to score 45 goals in a season, joining Kent Nilsson (2x; last: 46 in 1982-83), Markus Naslund (48 in 2002-03), Mats Sundin (47 in 1992-93) and Hakan Loob (50 in 1987-88). Forsberg recorded the 43rd multi-goal game of his NHL career to tie Daniel Sedin and Peter Forsberg for the sixth-most by a Swedish-born player in League history behind Sundin (81), Daniel Alfredsson (64), Naslund (52), Nilsson (47) and Henrik Zetterberg (45). With his 10th career hat trick, Forsberg additionally became the third Swedish-born player in League history with 10 career hat tricks, following Kent Nilsson (14) and Markus Naslund (11).
- Dante Fabbro rejoined the lineup for his first game since March 30 vs. Colorado and recorded a +1 rating, three shot attempts and two blocks over 17:06 of total ice time.
- Cody Glass rejoined the lineup for his first game since April 2 vs. Boston and recorded two shots and four shot attempts over 11:08 of total ice time.
- Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Tyson Barrie, Ryan McDonagh (roster management), Gustav Nyquist (roster management) and Juuse Saros (roster management) were scratched and did not skate in Friday’s game.
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