The Nashville Predators' top line is cooking, and Filip Forsberg talked about what is working so well with line mates Juuso Pärssinen and Ryan O'Reilly.
The Nashville Predators' top line is cooking, and Filip Forsberg talked about what is working so well with line mates Juuso Pärssinen and Ryan O'Reilly.
When Barry Trotz signed veteran free agent Ryan O'Reilly in the offseason, the Predators' GM hoped O'Reilly could add another voice to the core leadership on the team and mentor the young players Nashville will need to develop as the franchise undertakes a roster reset. O'Reilly is doing just that as he centers a line with veteran leader Filip Forsberg and young Juuso Pärssinen, and the trio has been successful early.
Nashville's top line of Forsberg, O'Reilly, and Pärssinen are generating a lot of offensive opportunities, playing a sound defensive game, and keeping opponents busy whenever the three take the ice together. In six games, the top line has scored five goals and 12 points which doesn't begin to represent the potential this Predators' trio has shown early. When it comes to lines that have played together 30 minutes or more so far this season, Forsberg, O'Reilly, and Pärssinen are near the top of the league in advanced stats like expected goals per 60. The trio are generating quality offensive chances while still playing a defensively responsible game.
What is working so well with that line?
"I think a lot is working well," Forsberg said Monday after practice. "I think we're skating well, we're moving fast up and down the ice, and we're defending really well."
"We haven't had to defend too much so far, but whenever we have, we've been solid defensively," he said.
Despite being at different stages in their careers, the similarities the three players share have helped them start the season so well.
"I think both those guys are big, strong guys just like myself trying to protect the puck while they move in the zone," Forsberg said of how they play.
Forsberg acknowledges that the three of them can generate a lot of offensive chances, but he believes their stats can be more impressive than they are.
"I think we obviously left a few goals on the boards that we would have liked to capitalize on, but at the same time, the chances are there," he said.
It isn't just growing familiarity with each other that is improving Nashville's top line. The players are becoming more comfortable with Andrew Brunette's very different style of play — a style that compliments Forsberg, O'Reilly, and Pärssinen's skill sets.
"It's obviously something completely different from what we've been doing before," Forsberg said of the new system.
"I think it's not a full 100% there yet. It's a little bit of a change, but it's definitely less thinking. It's more instinct, just trying to play hockey which I think we're doing a really good job of as of late, and the results have gotten better and better," Forsberg said.
The top line's results will be important as the Predators face off against the Vancouver Canucks tonight, a team averaging 4.00 goals per game and ranking third on the power play so far this season. The Predators will need their top line working well as they welcome Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Quinn Hughes, and the Canucks to Bridgestone Arena.
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