NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Filip Forsberg dropped his broken stick and raced to the bench for another just as the puck slid around the boards near his skates. He grabbed a new stick from the Predators’ equipment manager, fought off Jets defenseman Ben Chiarot and kept the puck onside.
Then he skated toward Connor Hellebuyck, holding off Chiarot as he scored, then slid into the net .
The man also known as Scoresberg or Filthy Fil then helped send the Western Conference semifinal back to Nashville for a deciding Game 7 with another highlight-reel worthy goal. Viktor Arvidsson found Forsberg and the Swede slipped the puck through his legs, a movement that prompted Hellebuyck to slide away from the post to cover the empty net to his left.
Forsberg immediately flipped the puck through the sliver of an opening, causing a GIF-frenzy on social media.
With the postseason that Forsberg is having, Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne can’t settle on the best goal he’s seen from his teammate.
”I feel like these two series that already at least three or four really unbelievable goals, and it’s hard to pick,” Rinne said. ”I’m just a fan when I watch him play.”
Forsberg led the Predators with 64 points helping Nashville win the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy during the regular season. He now is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer in the playoffs with 15 points this postseason, bringing Nashville back for Game 7 on Thursday night against Winnipeg as the Predators seek a second straight berth in the West final. The winner of this series will host the Vegas Golden Knights for the first two games.
With Pittsburgh and Boston eliminated, Forsberg now is tied with Washington’s Alex Ovechkin for the most points scored this postseason with 15, and the Predators forward has a plus-4 rating that is a point ahead of Ovechkin with both having played 12 games each.
Forsberg looks just comfortable passing the puck through his own legs as those of a defenseman he’s undressing on his way to another goal or even just juggling the puck with his stick to give teammates time to get back onside. The 23-year-old forward from Ostervala, Sweden, said his stick skills are the result of lots of hard work.
”Natural is definitely not the word for it, but it just takes a lot of practice, takes a lot of you doing,” Forsberg said. ”Just try to maybe do it in practice and stuff like that and once in a while you get time and space for it in a game, you try to pull it off.”
Some scorers tap into their natural talent, blessed with quick hands and eyes along with soft hands. Others spend hours and hours developing muscle memory. Forsberg counts himself among those who made themselves into scorers. He started as a young child using a shooting ramp his father built for Forsberg and his brother and lots of road hockey.
”I think that’s where it all started,” Forsberg said.
His skills grew as he led his junior team with 40 points in 2010-11 and helped Sweden win silver at the 2011 World Under-18 Championship. Forsberg was captain when Sweden won both the World Under-18 and World Junior championships in 2012.
The Washington Capitals made Forsberg their first-round pick at No. 11 overall in 2012. He never played a game for the Capitals before being traded April 3, 2013, to Nashville in exchange for Martin Erat and Martin Latta.
The Predators wasted no time getting Forsberg on the ice, playing him five games that same season. Forsberg spent only 13 games with Nashville in 2013-14, and he has been a fixture in the lineup since 2014-15. They signed him to a six-year, $36 million contract in June 2016.
Center Nick Bonino won two Stanley Cups with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh, and he’s gotten to watch Forsberg up close this season after signing as a free agent.
”He’s very skilled,” Bonino said. ”He’s one of the most skilled sticks I’ve ever seen. Practice is fun with him. Games are fun with him.”
Forward Colton Sissons sees Forsberg as having a gift that helps him see how best to move the puck instantly to execute in high-pressure moments. Sissons also is pretty sure of what might happen if he tried to mimic some of Forsberg’s scoring moves.
”I might break my ankle or something bad might happen,” Sissons said. ”I’d probably just jam it in the near post, but I’ll leave the through the legs stuff to Fil and some of those guys.”
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Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker
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