In Nashville, the Predators extended their active points streak to 10 games on Thursday night, in a 4-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres. 
Filip Forsberg hit for a hat trick in the win.
Nashville is 9-0-1 in their last 10.
“I think we’re playing pretty good hockey,” Forsberg said. “It’s a pretty solid effort over four lines and three [defense] pairs, and getting great goaltending as well. This is something that we’ve got to keep building on.”
Juuse Saros made 26 saves in the win.
The Predators improved to 36-25-3.
Nashville took a 1-0 lead Forsberg’s first of the night at 3:53 of the opening stanza.
Paul Byram, acquired from the Colorado Avalanche on trade, knotted the match, 1-1, at 4:23.
“He’s dynamic,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “He’s in the peer group with Dahlin. A year different, a draft year different, has won a Stanley Cup, is a top-five pick. To have him, knowing he’s gone through incredible experiences already in this League, and keep in mind, [Byram and Dahlin] around 22 years old with not a lot of life experience yet. Dynamic, and it’s exciting to see the potential of those two players.”
Gustav Nyquist had three assists in the win for the Preds.
Nashville got the lead back on a power play marker form Luke Evangelista at 16:15 for a 2-1 advantage headed to the middle frame, which was scoreless.
“I’m kind of finding my game and winning some more battles,” Evangelista said. “Obviously, any time you can produce and have a positive impact on the game, especially at this time of year, it’s huge. It’s not just me though. Everyone is kind of finding their game right now, and it’s showing in the wins and points that we’re racking up.”
The Sabres dropped to 29-30-5.
“It was nice to get it out of the way,” Byram said of scoring his first goal with Buffalo. “Obviously, not the way you want your first game with a new team to end, but that’s the way it goes. We’ll head back to Buffalo now. I’ll try to get my life somewhat sorted and get ready to play again.”
Forsberg picked up his double in the third period when he made the score 3-1 to Nashville at 1:49.
“I saw their [defensemen] cheating as he was making his turn around the net,” Nyquist said. “It worked out pretty good. It helps, obviously, we’ve been playing for a while now together with [Predators forward Ryan O’Reilly] and seem to be able to find those spots, all three of us. Just got to keep going.”
Forsberg collected his hats at 6:43 for a 4-1 led..
“That top line was really on it right from the start,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “I thought their line and [Predators forward Michael McCarron’s line] were going. You could see the mojo they were creating. We knew [Forsberg] was probably going to have a night.”
Owen Power added a marker for the Sabres at 12:52 for the 4-2 final count on the scoreboard.
“[Byram] just found me,” Power said. “I didn’t know exactly how much space I had. I knew I had a guy on me, so he made a really nice play to just kind of put it on my stick. I was able to just put it in.”
Eric Comrie made 21 saves in the loss.
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