Forsberg, O'Reilly and Nyquist Embody Predators' 'Relentless' Play

With 11 games remaining in the regular season and the Stanley Cup playoffs looming on the horizon, it's imperative that the Nashville Predators get contributions from throughout the lineup.

However, while depth scoring is important for any team making a playoff push, their top forward line needs to show up, too. That’s exactly what Filip Forsberg , Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist have done for the Predators this season – especially over the past 17 games.

Nashville is currently riding a 17-game point streak (15-0-2), the longest active streak in the NHL and the longest of the 2023-24 campaign. Forsberg (25), Nyquist (22) and O'Reilly (13) are three of the Predators' top-five point-getters during the streak; veteran blueliners Roman Josi (23) and Ryan McDonagh (14) are the others.

“They make good plays at the right time,” Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said of the trio. “I think they're enjoying playing with each other. They have a certain kind of joy together. I think they play selfless together. I think they care about each other, and it kind of shows on the ice.”

Forsberg (14), Nyquist (7) and O'Reilly (5) have combined for more than one-third of the 69 goals that Nashville has scored during the streak. They also lead all Predators forwards in ice time per game over the last 17 contests, both at even strength and on the power play.

Forsberg leads the Predators in points (78) and goals (39). His 39 goals are tied for the ninth-most among all NHL skaters, and he is on pace to pass his career high of 84 points set in 2021-22. Nyquist has already set a career high of his own in his 12th NHL season with 63 points, passing his previous record of 54 set in 2014-15 with the Detroit Red Wings.

“I’ve learned a lot from playing with Factor and Gus,” Forsberg said. “Obviously, I try to do a lot of the things they do so well and try to add that to my game, too — like playing both sides of the puck, I think that's been improving all year. I’m fortunate enough to play with those guys on the offensive side as well because they can give me a chance to finish [plays].”

Throughout the highs and lows of the Predators' season, the trio has consistently brought out the best in one another other and plays the "relentless" style of hockey that Brunette expects from his group.

“The group has rallied around each other through adversity,” Brunette said. “We've been able to stay connected through hard times. We’ve been able to build our game, and we're starting to trust each other. I think every line is trusting the next line is going to do the right thing.”