Forsberg capitalized on increased ice time, scoring his first Olympic goal and boosting Sweden toward a quarterfinal showdown with the U.S.
Patience is beginning to pay off for Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg in Milano Cortina.
Despite seeing limited ice time in the games, Forsberg scored his first Olympic goal in Sweden's 5-1 win over Latvia in qualification playoffs on Tuesday. He logged a indiviudal tournament high 13:16 minutes of ice time and 16 shifts.
The Swedes will face the United States on Wednesday at 2:10 p.m. CST in the quarterfinals.
Forsberg is one of four Predators who will move on to the quarterfinal round, joining Roman Josi (Switzerland), Juuse Saros (Finland) and Erik Haula (Finland).
On the goal, Pittsburgh Penguins Erik Karlsson skated around the zone before making a cross-ice pass to Forsberg on the left side, giving him a wide-open net to tap the puck into. The goal put Sweden up 3-0.
Feb 17, 2026; Milan, Italy; Filip Forsberg of Sweden celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates during a men's ice hockey qualification playoff game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn ImagesThe Swedes will face the United States on Wednesday at 2:10 p.m. CST in the quarterfinals.
Foresberg's limited ice time came as a shock to many. In Sweden's 5-2 win over Italy to open up Olympic play, Forsberg took just one shift for 1:07 minutes of ice time and skated as Sweden's 13th forward.
While there was a substantial increase in time on ice for Sweden's game against Finland, Forsberg's ice time was still on the lower end, logging 9:31 minutes and 13 shifts.
In Sweden's final preliminary game, a 5-3 win over Slovakia, he had 11:45 of ice time and 14 shifts, recording his first point of the tournament off an assist on an Elias Patterson goal.
Compared to the NHL, Forsberg is averaging 18:49 minutes of ice time with the Predators and has 47 points (24 G, 23 A) in 57 games. Given his stats and Sweden's struggles in the games, it's somewhat odd that Forsberg has been limited.
Sweden will have its hands full against the U.S., as the Americans have not lost a game and rank second in goals-for in the tournament.
History is on Sweden's side as the United States has not won a quarterfinal game since the 2014 Olympics. The U.S. has not medaled since the 2010 Olympics, where it lost in the Gold Medal game to Canada.
Sweden has never placed lower than fifth in the Olympics. At the 2022 games, the Swedes fell to Slovakia in the Bronze Medal game, 4-0.