Forsberg, Kunin Lead Preds to OT Win Over Montreal to Finish Homestand

Three periods and six regulation goals weren't enough to decide a matchup between the Nashville Predators and Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night, but it was Filip Forsberg and the Preds that found a way to win an overtime thriller, 4-3, at Bridgestone Arena.
Forsberg played the hero in the 3-on-3 period, sniping his 11th goal of the season off a beautiful feed from Mikael Granlund from behind the net. Forsberg fumbled his stick on the left wing just seconds before scoring, and by the time he picked it back up, Granlund delivered the puck right to his tape and the winger took care of the rest.

"I just liked our mental toughness tonight," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said after the win. "We went through a bunch of adversity in the second period, came up with a huge kill at a key time, which I think, to me, is why we stress so much mental and physical toughness… This is the game we have to get back to, and we've got to have some perseverance and ultra-competitiveness. We went out and had to come from behind again, but I felt we played pretty well in the third period, and it's nice to see us be able to get the win from it. So, lots of lessons out of this game."
"I think it was one of those games where, first period was really good, we got a lot of chances, we just didn't bear down on them," Forsberg said. "We should have probably had a little bit of a bigger lead there, and then the second period was kind of so-so, and then we just took it right back at them in the third."
The Preds got 20 saves from Juuse Saros between the pipes and tallies from Eeli Tolvanen, Tanner Jeannot and Luke Kunin propelled them to a victory. Both Tolvanen and Jeannot scored by redirecting slapshots from Mattias Ekholm, giving the Swede his fourth and fifth assists of the season.

Two second-period goals from Nick Suzuki and Christian Dvorak gave the Canadiens a lead for a brief moment, but the Predators were able to force overtime and escape with a victory. The win pushed Nashville to 13-10-1 on the season to finish off their three-game homestand with a 2-1-0 record.
Forsberg's overtime goal was the eighth of his career to surpass former Preds Captain Shea Weber (7) for sole possession of second place in franchise history. Forsberg trails only David Legwand (9) on Nashville's all-time list of OT goals.

Saturday Storyline:

After finishing their three-game homestand with a pair of wins, the Predators will now hit the road 10 times in the next 13 games. Protecting their home-ice was of the utmost importance on Saturday night, and the Preds were able to do just that.
One of the biggest reasons for their success was the play of Luke Kunin. Not only did the winger tally the game-tying goal and a first-period assist, but he also got into a fight early in the third period, giving him a Gordie Howe hat trick - Nashville's first since Ryan Johansen in March of 2018. Oh, and it was his birthday, too.

"We talked a lot about our game against Boston [on Thursday night], and I think we did a lot of good things," Kunin said. "It didn't show on the scoreboard, but as far as our game was concerned, that was how we wanted to play, and we just wanted to carry some of that stuff into tonight… I'm sure it's the best game I've had on my birthday.... To get the win just really capped it off."
After Montreal defenseman Brett Kulak broke a 2-2 tie just three minutes into the third with his first goal of the season, Kunin forced overtime with his fourth goal of the year. The forward punched home the equalizer by battling through a scrum at the net front, exhibiting exactly why he is so valued by Hynes and the Preds.
"He has the ability to score, he's a hard player to play against. He had some big hits, obviously he had the fight tonight, but that's the type of player that Luke is and that's why he's valuable to the team," Hynes said. " He's a hard, competitive player to play against. He's got offensive skill to score, and he has the ability to score in different ways. He does a good job in the net front. He has tips and rebounds, the way he scored tonight was good, but I think a lot of the attributes that he brings as a player is what makes him such a valuable guy for us."
He also helped set up a goal from Tolvanen in the first period. After going 22 games without finding the back of the net, Tolvanen was able to erase his goalless streak and help the Preds jump out to a first-period lead. It was the ninth time this season that Nashville has led after the first period, and they have now won each and every one of those nine.
"I think Johansen's line in the last few games with Kunin and Tolvanen has been really good. They haven't been rewarded on the scoresheet for how they've played, so it's nice to see both those guys - Kunin gets a Gordie Howe hat trick on his birthday, (Tolvanen) has been working his butt off, winds up with a good tip goal," Hynes said. "I think the most important thing is that they got rewarded for the effort that they've put in, and now if they continue with the way that they're playing then the production will continue to come."

Highlight of the Night:

They Said It:

Filip Forsberg on Luke Kunin:
"Birthday boy gets a Gordie Howe hat trick, it doesn't get better than that. Just the way he competes out there, and the goal is the ultimate proof of that. He just sticks with it and he does a little bit of everything for this team, which is very fun to watch. It was about time he got rewarded for it."

Notes:

The Predators are now on a 10-game home point streak (6-0-4) against Montreal to match their longest active such run against one team (New Jersey).
Nashville has now picked up at least a point in 16 of its last 18 meetings with Montreal (12-2-4) and has only lost twice in regulation since Jan. 15, 2009.
Predators defensemen Ben Harpur (conditioning loan) and Philippe Myers were scratched on Saturday.
Saturday marked forward Colton Sissons' 400th NHL game, all with Nashville.
Nashville will now go on the road for a four-game trip beginning on Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings at 6 p.m. CT.