Familiar Faces Finding Chemistry Again as Preds Training Camp Continues

A familiar trio paraded down the ice together just moments into the first Preds practice in four months, and they've continued to do so all week long.

Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson - better known to many as the "JOFA" line - have been reunited. So have Nick Bonino, Craig Smith and Rocco Grimaldi, the most consistent combination for Nashville all season long. Matt Duchene and Mikael Granlund, who showed a connection right from the start of 2019-20, are together as well.

Predators Training Camp Presented by Vanderbilt Health has begun with more than just the welcome sight of familiar faces on a sheet of ice. Head Coach John Hynes is going with what's worked in the past too.

"We felt like coming back from the pause, and some of the games that the guys started to play well, I think it's important to try to get some chemistry as quick as you can," Hynes said.

The strategy may seem simple enough, but oftentimes, training camp affords the opportunity to take different looks at what other combos and pairings may work. However, these circumstances are anything but normal, and with just two weeks of camp - and then a single game against Dallas - before facing Arizona in the Stanley Cup Qualifier, the decision was made to stick with what could be argued as the ideal lineup.

"[Johansen, Arvidsson and Forsberg] have played well together, and people are coming off fresh from their breaks and we'd like some chemistry," Hynes said. "There's been some strong chemistry with Duchene and Granlund, but Bonino's line has been very strong, and then I think we have a great complement of players that come in with [Colton] Sissons, [Calle Jarnkrok], [Austin Watson], [Colin Blackwell], [Yakov] Trenin and those types of guys. We put the groups together right now, see how they mesh, see how guys came back, how they feel, and we liked what we saw."

Kyle Turris has been the other winger alongside Duchene and Granlund, and Hynes has been impressed with what the natural centerman can bring to that unit.

"Granlund and Duchene have very strong chemistry, and Kyle Turris is a very smart player," Hynes said. "He's complemented well with those guys in practice, they seem to be jelling and they're all three smart players. They're highly skilled players, they understand how to play with and without the puck and that line looks pretty good."

Those who are part of those lines appreciate the familiarity as well. In the case of the Johansen line, Forsberg says the reunification has been a great way to get back to the ice.

"The familiarity has always been there, and I think it's been a while since we played together, but you can almost tell right away in the back of your head what the other guys are going to do," Forsberg said of the trio, who combined for an impressive goal earlier in the week. "We haven't had a ton of game-like drills so far, but there've been a couple of line rushes that we had I thought looked good."

For the Bonino line, it's been like picking back up right where they left off. The centerman was about to record his highest single-season point total with the Preds, Grimaldi set career-highs in virtually every statistical category and Smith was well on his way to another 20-goal season before the pause.

As Bonino explains, the trio simply clicked right from the start.

"It's one of those lines that from the minute we got together we seemed to create offense," Bonino said. "We're strong defensively, mostly because we were out of our zone really quickly. Those two guys are very fast, tough on the puck, they get open. For me, I love playing with guys with a lot of speed. It allows me to pass the puck to them, to create some space for them and always support them.

"A lot of the time, a lot of my goals this year, I was going to the net and they were delivering it. I was getting rebounds, I was getting tips, so it's been fun."

The hope is the enjoyment up and down the forward corps will continue as camp moves along. Of course, the importance of finding chemistry is paramount, especially in a five-game series as opposed to seven, like they'll face against Arizona.

There will only be one way to truly tell if these trios have what it takes - that will come for the first time on Aug. 2 in Edmonton with Game 1 - but there's a lot to like at the current juncture.

"It looks good right now, but we'll see how it continues to go through [camp]," Hynes said. "Coming back, everyone's fresh, healthy and ready to go, so let's see if we can get some chemistry right off the bat."