Swedish Meatballs & Scoring Records: Nashville's Top Line Continues Impactful Play During Historic Streak

If the Nashville Predators never lose again, Filip Forsberg may never stop scoring either.

Finding twine in the third period of Nashville’s contest against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, Forsberg recorded his 40th goal of the season and became the only player in franchise history to record multiple 40-goal seasons and multiple 80-point seasons.

Already on track to finish the 2023-24 campaign with the best numbers of his career, Forsberg is additionally only four goals away from passing Matt Duchene (43) for the franchise’s single-season goals record and one game away from recording the longest goal streak in Predators history (7).

Of course, that’s all just business as usual for the Predators all-star winger.

“I think you just go with the flow,” Forsberg said following Tuesday’s overtime thriller. “Obviously, you keep track of [the goals record], but at the same time, the second you start looking at it, it's really easy for things to start drying up on you. So I don't really pay too much attention to that. It was a fun season for both of us when [Duchene] broke that record, and obviously we both had big parts in each of our good seasons. And if it happens, it happens, but we'll see.”

It’s hard to imagine it not happening. At this point, it’s almost a foregone conclusion.

During the Predators franchise-record 18-game point streak (16-0-2), No. 9 has been a lightning rod, netting team highs in points (28), goals (15), power-play goals (5), game-winning goals (4), shots (80), multi-point performances (9) and three-point performances (4).

“He’s just a dominant player,” Gustav Nyquist said. “He kind of does it all for us. Obviously, he’s a heck of a goal-scorer and he’s been able to put the puck in the net a lot this year. And he’s a big reason for our success as a team, so we’re happy to have him.”

“I definitely hated playing against him,” linemate and former Central Division rival Ryan O’Reilly said. “He's just so skilled, so elusive, so big, so strong. It's just so hard to play against him and defend him. And seeing it firsthand every every shift, what he does and how crafty he is… It's impressive. It's fun to watch, and it's that much more fun to play with than against.”

Indeed, the 2023-24 campaign has been just as fun for Forsberg’s linemates as it’s been for the man himself.

With 10 games left to play, Nyquist has already recorded career highs in points (65) and assists (45), as well as the fourth 20-goal season of his career, his first in six years. The winger has 45 points (16g-29a) in his last 40 games and 24 (8g-16a) during Nashville’s historic streak.

O’Reilly, centered between his two “Swedish meatballs,” is on pace to match a career high in goals (28) that he first established a decade ago, then duplicated during the St. Louis Blues’ Stanley Cup-winning season. His 16 points (6g-10a) through Nashville’s 18-game run are the fourth-most among his teammates, behind only his linemates and Captain Roman Josi (24).

“For Fil, myself and Gus, there's no big ego there,” he said. “And I feel like we've worked really well together because it's just, ‘Alright, what can we do? How can we be effective?’ And I think that’s been a big reason for our success. We try to work hard and we communicate. We try to fight through things and listen to each other. And so far, it's been pretty good.”

“I think our whole line has learned a lot from each other, to be honest,” Nyquist said. “And part of that is being able to play for a longer stretch of time together and pick up on things, and I think we enjoy playing with each other. We play hard for each other, we're happy for each other’s successes out there and we’re just trying to work together as a line.”

The successes, as the results clearly show, have been plentiful.

Per MoneyPuck.com, the trio is second among all NHL forward lines who have spent at least 100 minutes together at 5-on-5 in expected goals for (34), shot attempts for (788) and unblocked shot attempts for (555), as well as playing minutes (665.8).

That final stat, a testament to the overwhelming amount of time Nashville’s top line has remained intact this season, was credited by each skater as a reason for success.

“I think it felt good right off the bat once we got put together,” Nyquist said. “It felt like there could be something there and I think it's something we’ve built. We've had some ups and downs, too. But for the most part we've been fairly consistent in what we've been able to do out there.”

“The chemistry was there right away,” Forsberg said. “But every game we play with each other, practices, everything, you get to know these guys better and better. And it's hopefully still improving, but we’re playing well.”

The trio will continue chipping away at their respective career highs on Thursday as the Predators take on the Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena. Puck drop is at 9 p.m. CT, with the game set to broadcast on Bally Sports South, 102.5 The Game and El Jefe Radio.