Nashville’s Top Line

from Ronnie Rönnkvist of The Daily Faceoff, This story appeared on hockeysverige.se this week and has been translated from Swedish to English. The Nashville Predators have been one of the most pleasant surprises in the NHL this season. The team is currently holding on to a wild-card spot in the Western Conference, a scenario few experts had anticipated at the start of the season. After getting rid of veterans like Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene in the off-season, as well as bringing in Barry Trotz as the team’s second GM ever, many thought this would be a year where the Preds took a step back to get younger and reload. But the acquisition of two key veterans last summer have given the team a jolt. Ryan O’Reilly’s ability to help the team with his leadership skills and two-way acumen was evident from the get-go. But it might be more surprising that 34-year-old Gustav Nyquist has been an integral part of the team’s success. Currently in his 12th NHL season, the Swedish winger is just three points shy of beating his record for points in the NHL. In 2018-19, he amassed 60 points over 81 games with the Detroit Red Wings and the San Jose Sharks. Now, he has 58 in 67 games. Nyquist, who went the college route before signing with the Red Wings in 2011, has been a perfect fit on the Predators’ top line alongside O’Reilly and countryman Filip Forsberg. Forsberg and Nyquist got to know each other a bit at the World Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2018. Sweden won gold after beating Switzerland in the final. continued