Forsberg's OT goal caps Predators' rally at Buffalo
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Filip Forsberg scored his second goal of the night 2:45 into overtime, leading the Nashville Predators to a 5-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.
After the Sabres came up short on an offensive rush, the Predators turned it the other way, and Forsberg beat Buffalo goalie Robin Lehner with a high wrist shot to the glove side.
It capped a tremendous comeback by the Predators, who overcame a 4-2 deficit in the third period, and another standout evening for Forsberg. He evened the score with 2:23 remaining in regulation, and he now has 10 goals in the past five games following his OT game-winner.
Mike Fisher, Colin Wilson and Ryan Johansen also scored for Nashville, which won its fourth game in a row. Pekka Rinne made 28 saves for the Predators (32-22-9).
Johansen cut Buffalo's lead to 4-3 on a quick wrist shot from the left circle with 8:44 remaining.
Forsberg made it 4-4 when he raced into the Buffalo zone, went around defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and beat Lehner to the glove side.
Brian Gionta, Kyle Okposo, Evander Kane and Jake McCabe scored for the Sabres, who lost their third in a row. Lehner made 36 saves for Buffalo (26-27-10).
Gionta opened the scoring with 4:08 remaining in the first period. The Sabres captain swatted a rebound out of the air after it caromed off the end boards, banking it off Rinne into the net for his 13th goal of the season.
Okposo made it 2-0 only 1:36 later. Okposo jumped on the rebound after a shot from McCabe and scored his 19th goal of the season on a backhand finish.
Fisher got one back for Nashville just before the end of the first. Lehner made a poor decision to charge out of the net in an effort to beat Fisher to the puck and was unsuccessful, allowing Fisher to score his 16th goal of the season with 1:11 left.
The Predators stormed back at the start of the second, grabbing an 8-0 edge in shots and evening the score 2:09 into the period. With Sabres defenseman Ristolainen in the box, Wilson picked up his 11th goal of the year. Johansen spotted Wilson with a cross-ice pass as Lehner and several players were tied up in the crease.
Kane restored Buffalo's lead on a terrific shot 5:35 into the second. On a two-on-one rush with Gionta, Kane rifled a hard shot off the left post and in to make it 3-2 on his 22nd goal of the season.
McCabe made it 4-2 only 56 seconds into the third. The defenseman grabbed a big rebound from Rinne and placed a hard shot to the glove side from the right circle. It was McCabe's second goal of the season.
NOTES: D Justin Falk, LW Nicolas Deslauriers and G Linus Ullmark were scratched for the Sabres. ... D Anthony Bitetto, C Colton Sissons and D Brad Hunt were scratched for the Predators. ... Earlier Tuesday, the Sabres acquired D Mat Bodie from the New York Rangers in exchange for F Daniel Catenacci. Both players have played this season in the AHL. Bodie is 12th among AHL defensemen with 30 points (eight goals, 22 assists) in 45 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack. ... This was the second of two meetings between the teams this season. Buffalo won the first matchup 5-4 in Nashville.