Forsberg Tallies Twice, Saros Earns 100th Win as Preds Beat Canucks

Filip Forsberg scored twice and Juuse Saros collected his 100th career victory as the Nashville Predators defeated the Vancouver Canucks by a 4-2 final on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result gives the Preds two more points as the NHL All-Star break arrives as they reach the 60-point mark through just 46 games on the campaign.
Ryan Johansen and Tanner Jeannot also tallied in Nashville's first game since Thursday night, and Saros made 30 saves to become the third goaltender in Predators history to reach the century mark in wins as he joined Tomas Vokoun and Pekka Rinne.

Vancouver got the game's first goal off the stick of Matthew Highmore early in the opening period, but Nashville responded later in the frame with a pair of tallies just 1:08 apart from one another. First, Johansen sped down the right wing just as the Predators had finished killing a penalty and sniped a shot over the right shoulder of Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko. Then, Forsberg found himself alone in the slot as he tipped in a Philippe Myers point shot to give the Preds their first lead of the night.
The Canucks evened the score before the first period was out when Oliver Ekman-Larsson beat Preds goaltender Juuse Saros with a floater from the point, but Forsberg's second of the night was a one-timer that came on the power play at 3:12 of the second stanza to put Nashville back up by one through 40 minutes of play.

The final frame was Nashville's best of the evening, and Jeannot didn't wait long to put his club up by two - plenty of cushion for Saros and the Preds to turn aside nine more Vancovuer shots before the final horn sounded.
Forsberg has now recorded multiple points in each of his past four games, tying the longest stretch with multiple points in Predators history. Seven other players achieved the feat, with Ryan Ellis last doing so in 2019-20.
The Predators improved to 28-14-4 and reached the 60-point mark in their 46th game of the season. Nashville has hit 60 standings points in fewer contests just four times in franchise history: 2014-15 (41 GP), 2006-07 (43 GP), 2017-18 (44 GP) and 2005-06 (45 GP).

Tuesday Storyline:

Vacation always sits much better with two more points in the bank, and the Predators will enjoy the next few days with the satisfaction of another job well done.
Forsberg helped to lead his club to their 28th triumph of the season as Nashville did what they set out to do on Tuesday night - take advantage of the ample practice time heading into the outing with Vancouver, and then capitalize to remain one of the NHL's hottest teams heading into NHL All-Star Weekend.
Mission accomplished.
"[I'm] really proud of the team," Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. "Coming into this game tonight before the break, a big focus was just that we needed to be ready to play the game the right way and understand that this game is really important. We've got to be present, we have to be ready to play the way that we want to play. It's always a challenge sometimes when you get in these situations, and to be honest, you have to really rely on your leadership and the players to make sure that they're ready to play. I was just really proud."
"It's always a little challenging when you [don't play] for four days, but I think we were ready right from the start," Saros said. "We really prepared and played a solid game, so I've got to give a lot of credit to the guys."

Forsberg was perhaps most noticeable up front for his pair of tallies on the evening as he continued his impressive pace - 24 goals now in just 33 games - as he works toward perhaps his best NHL season to date.
"I just try to do the same thing every day and just come prepared to every practice and every game," Forsberg said. "It's not like I haven't done that in the past either, but with every year, you get a little more mature and you learn something from every season. This year, I think that's the mindset, just take every day as it is and just try to get the best out of it... It's been working well so far, but we've got just under halfway left of the season and that effort is going to have to continue for all of us."
There certainly hasn't been any lack of effort from Saros, and once again, the netminder was a key cog in Nashville's result on Tuesday. Reaching the 100-win milestone was also appreciated by Saros, but the nightly production - or lackthereof from the opposition - is perhaps what impresses the most thanks to the puck stopper's abilities.

"Well, 100 wins is a great benchmark for him, and I think he's just coming into his own as a player and a person at this level of being a starter," Hynes said. "He's been excellent… He's a humble guy, he works hard, he's tremendously talented, he plays very consistently, he's very dependable and it's a great feather in his cap to get 100 wins. And it's great for the organization to have a guy like him that's your lead dog in net."
Saros, along with Predators Captain Roman Josi, will now head to Las Vegas to represent Nashville at NHL All-Star Weekend while the rest of their teammates will likely head to desirable destinations for some well-deserved recharging for what's to come.
But for now, the Preds remain more than pleased with their latest showing - a perfect way to start the month and end another satisfying stretch.
"I really liked the commitment level of our group - just focused, ready, willing to play the right way, physical, hard shot blocking - and we did some good things in the offensive zone that we wanted to get back to," Hynes said. "I'm just proud of the leadership group and the whole team to make sure that we found a way to win this game and go into the break with a good hockey game and a good win."

Highlight of the Night:

They Said It:

Juuse Saros on collecting his 100th career win:
"It's pretty cool. You don't really think about those things growing up, you just try to make it to the NHL. Obviously, I played with a lot of good guys and good teams, so that helped me get to that number."

Notes:

Prior to Tuesday's game, the Predators activated defenseman Dante Fabbro from Injured Reserve and removed forward Eeli Tolvanen from the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list. Both players participated on Tuesday, but defenseman Matt Benning did not and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Roman Josi skated in his 724th career game with the Predators, surpassing Martin Erat (723 GP) for sole possession of third place on the franchise's all-time list.
The 2022 NHL All-Star break has now arrived, and Josi will head to Vegas with Saros to represent the Predators during All-Star Weekend with the Skills Competition on Friday evening and the All-Star Game on Saturday afternoon. Nashville's next game will come next Wednesday, Feb. 9, as they travel to Dallas to take on the Stars.