Forsberg, O'Reilly & Nyquist "Thriving to Be the Best Line in the NHL"
One of the best and most surprising lines in the league from last season are still together and ready to get even better.
Forsberg, O'Reilly & Nyquist "Thriving to Be the Best Line in the NHL"The Nashville Predators come into this season with a much better lineup than the team had last season at any point. This time around, it won't have to be just the top line carrying the majority of the offense and driving the team to success, there's lots of help.
The top line of Filip Forsberg, Ryan O'Reilly, and Gustav Nyquist dominated together for all of last season, the first time any of them had been together. But head coach Andrew Brunette doesn't think the top line feels like any pressure is off of them this season, regardless of the additions.
When asked how the lines are from pre-season and if that takes some of the pressure off the top line with the guys that are behind them now, Brunette explained, "I don't think they look at it that way. They're thriving to be the best line in the NHL and I don't think they're looking for secondary help."
This may not be entirely true. While worried about their own game and how they can control the game when this top line is on the ice, they are only able to make an impact for generally a maximum of 1/3 of the game. They have to rely on the rest of their team the rest of the time, no matter how well Forsberg, O'Reilly, and Nyquist play.
This line led the Predators in time on ice together with 766. The team scored 46 goals and allowed just 31 when Forsberg, O'Reilly, and Nyquist were out there. While they outplayed their expected goals for and against, it was very impressive nonetheless.
Compared to last season, Brunette said, "we do have some guys that score a lot of goals and create a lot of offense and we're pretty deep that way. So I feel comfortable. I'm sure if you ask them (Forsberg, O'Reilly, and Nyquist), they're thinking how do we get better than more worried about what's behind them."
The chemistry of the Predators' top line is there and now the opponents will have to line match and deal with more than just that line this season. This should open up some opportunities for the line of Forsberg, O'Reilly, and Nyquist to do just as well together as last season.
Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault really add scoring behind the top line, but players like Luke Evangelista and Philip Tomasino can also surprise and add even more scoring depth from the third line. There is going to be more internal competition and the expectation is more goals from Nashville this season.