Nashville Predators Forward Filip Forsberg Sets Career Record in First Fifteen Games, Shares Favorite Career Goal

Filip Forsberg scored 18 points in his first fifteen games, a career high start for the Swedish forward.

The Nashville Predators may be struggling when it comes to their 5-10 record, but one player's numbers are a career high so far this season. Predators forward FIlip Forsberg broke his career record for points scored in the first 15 games of a season. With his goal Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks, Forsberg has collected 18 points in 15 games.

Forsberg's early offensive production came on mostly assists for line mates Ryan O'Reilly and Juuso Pärssinen. His first goal of the season came in the October 19 win over the New York Rangers on the power play, and Forsberg's goal scoring has taken off in recent games. The 29-year-old Swedish forward has scored six goals in his last five games and set a career high with 18 points in his first fifteen games. 

The record tops his early performance in the 2014-15 season in which Forsberg earned 17 points in his first fifteen outings, and he is three points ahead of where he was at this time in his 84 point season in 2021-22. 

What has been going so well for Forsberg this season? 

"Our line has been playing really well," Forsberg said when I asked about his offensive success so far. "I think obviously me and Factor [Ryan O'Reilly] have been playing really well together. And then the last five, six games Gus [Gustav Nyquist] has come in and brought a lot of speed, a lot of energy, a lot of those really good puck touches in the O zone."

"A lot of the credit to those guys," Forsberg said. "I think we're all complimenting each other really well." 

Forsberg may not have started the season with the goal scoring he has now, but he was generating quality offensive chances that just weren't going in the net. Forsberg leads the team in expected goals for with line mate O'Reilly just behind, but when the goals weren't finding the back of the net early, Forsberg had to rely on what he's learned over his career. 

"You've gone through similar spells at times in your career, so you learn a little bit from all of them," he said of trusting the process and knowing the goals would eventually come. 

"At the same time, you always want to produce. You always want to help the team win in any way you can, and obviously scoring goals in a really good way to do that," Forsberg added. 

"It's definitely going to keep coming. It's encouraging and frustrating at the same time, I guess you could say."

Forsberg's goal against Anaheim was one of his more unique scores as he batted the puck out of the air twice to get it behind Ducks' goalie John Gibson, but it wasn't his favorite career goal. 

"The lacrosse goal [scored in January 2020 against the Edmonton Oilers] was cool, but I think the one in the playoffs against the Avs through the legs kind of thing was cool," Forsberg said. "That's probably the one that sticks out a lot."

"Hopefully the best is yet to come."

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueCmoOzBa_o[/embed]

Forsberg will look to continue his three game goal scoring streak against the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena.