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 Forsberg, a 20-year-old center from Sweden, scored twice and
added an assist as the Predators defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-1
Sunday night.
"Sometimes you forget how young some of these guys are," Weber said.
"He's just going to keep getting better.
"He's been great. He played well for us before when he's been up
(but) this year he's taken control and is playing with more
confidence. He's using his size out there. We are happy to having
him. He's just going to continue to grow as a player."
Forsberg snapped a 1-1 tie early in the third period when he
collected a loose puck in front of the Vancouver net and fired a
wrist shot past goaltender Eddie Lack. It was Forsberg's first
two-goal game in the NHL. He leads all rookies with 11 points,
including eight assists.
"Every game is different," said Forsberg, who was acquired from the
Washington Capitals in an April 2013 trade. "I'm just trying to play
hard every night.
"Hopefully it can make me successful and make the team successful.
It's been good so far."
 Forsberg's first goal came 98 seconds into the second period with
Nashville on the power play. His shot deflected into the net off
Canucks defenseman Dan Hamhuis, tying the game at 1-1.
"I didn't really see what happened," Forsberg said with a laugh. "I
was just trying to get it to the net. It was a lucky bounce, but
we'll take that."
Center Colin Wilson had Nashville's other goal. Left winger James
Neal added two assists.
Canucks defenseman Alex Edler scored on the power play, but
Vancouver (8-4-0) saw its four-game winning streak end.
Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne made 26 saves to improve his record
to 7-2-1. He likes the up-tempo style the Predators (7-2-2) are
playing under new coach Peter Laviolette.
"I feel like it's fun to play games like that," he said. "I feel
like you get into the game when you play a fast game like that."
Nashville began to take control in the second period when it outshot
Vancouver 11-3. Overall, the Predators outshot the Canucks 33-27.
"We were trying to get a lot of attempts," Weber said. "We knew they
played last night.
"We wanted to come out and play hard, get a lot of pucks to the net,
create traffic and second opportunities. We did a pretty good job of
that tonight."
The Canucks, who won in Edmonton on Saturday night, were playing
their third game in four nights. They lost defenseman Kevin Bieksa
to an injury in the first period and left winger Tom Sestito in the
second.
Vancouver center Nick Bonino said the Predators didn't give the
Canucks much room.
"They do a pretty good job of clogging up their zone," said Bonino.
"I don't think many shots get though their defense.
[to top of second column] |
"At the end of the day we have to do a better job of getting pucks
to the net. We had a good first period, then let them off in the
second."
It was a frustrating night for Lack, the Canucks' backup goaltender
who made saw his record drop to 0-3-0 on the season.
"I am going to keep battling, playing my game," he said. "The first
one is going to come."
Lack said he wasn't bothered that Nashville's first goal came off
Hamhuis' stick.
"That's kind of the way it's been going," Lack said. "It's a 1-1
game. There's still a lot of hockey to be played.
"I didn't really think about it. I was just trying to keep playing
my game. Too bad I couldn't stop the last two ones."
The Canucks' only goal came on a first-period power play called
after Weber took exception to a crunching hit Canucks defenseman
Luca Sbisa made on left winger Taylor Beck. Weber skated over,
dropped his gloves, and started throwing punches. Sbisa put his head
down and hung on. Weber was given four minutes for roughing and
Sbisa two.
Less than a minute later, at 11:10, Edler scored off assists from
center Henrik Sedin and right winger Radim Vrbata.
NOTES: The Canucks recalled C Bo Horvat, their ninth pick in the
2013 draft, from AHL Utica, where he was undergoing a conditioning
assignment after sustaining a shoulder injury in the final preseason
game. He was a scratch for Sunday's game. ... Vancouver completed
its third of 12 back-to-back games this season. In all three, the
Canucks won the first game, then lost the second. ... C Matt Cullen
celebrated his 38th birthday Sunday, making him the second oldest
player to dress for the Predators. Former Nashville D Hal Gill
played at 38 years, 21 days. ... Nashville F Derek Roy played 12
games as a Canuck in the 2012-13 season. ... The Canucks begin a
four-game road trip with a game against the Colorado Avalanche in
Denver on Tuesday. ... The Predators make the fourth stop on a
six-game trip when they play the Jets in Winnipeg on Tuesday.
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