Filip Forsberg is 'Mr. Clutch' for Predators during NHL playoffs

The hero wore a gold helmet and No. 9 emblazoned across his back.

The Anaheim Ducks, comfortably portraying the villain, threatened to ruin the Predators' nine-game playoff winning streak at Bridgestone Arena, thwarting them through two periods. 

It was then that Filip Forsberg swooped into perfect position, his rebound goal spurring his team's third-period comeback victory in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. 

"Obviously when you're out there, you want to help the team," Forsberg said Tuesday. "Doesn’t matter if we're up or down, you always want to help the team. It came obviously at a good moment, but at the same time, if I didn't get that goal, I'm sure someone else would have."

To Forsberg, it was just another service provided by Nashville's friendly neighborhood goal scorer. In the Predators' locker room, however, the forward is known by his alter ego.

"He is Mr. Clutch," Predators forward Harry Zolnierczyk said. 

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Reputations are shaped in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the extreme stakes molding the perception of a player. Forsberg, already the Predators' offensive engine, is strengthening that status in the postseason. 

“He seems to be the guy who’s always finding a way to get it done in those crucial points in games," Predators center Ryan Johansen said. 

It's not as if Forsberg has anything to prove. He has emerged among the NHL's most dependable scorers, his 90 combined goals over the past three seasons outdone by only 12 players. There also was his 10-goal eruption in a five-game stretch in February, the first of its kind in nearly 16 years. 

During the Predators' two-round playoff run last season, however, Forsberg was a non-factor, battling a back injury and totaling four points in 14 games.

"It just seemed to be overwhelming to him as a young player, which happens," Predators general manager David Poile said. "I think this year, what we’ve seen in the playoffs, he has so much more confidence and swagger to his game."

That assertiveness has been obvious during the playoffs, which Forsberg has spent performing wizardry with the puck. 

His heroics Tuesday weren't his first of the playoffs. On April 17, he scored twice to force overtime, leading to the Predators' 3-2 first-round win against the Chicago Blackhawks. It was the first time in franchise history that the Predators overcame a multi-goal deficit in the third period to win a playoff game.

Forsberg's next goal, which will be his seventh of the playoffs, will tie the Predators' single-postseason record held by forward Joel Ward. 

Forsberg is the hero Nashville deserves and the one it needs right now. 

"Who do you want out there when you need a goal right now? It’s him,” Poile said. "He’s the guy. He believes he can do it, too. And the other team is fearful when he’s on the ice because they know he can do it."

Reach Adam Vingan at avingan@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamVingan.

PREDATORS vs. DUCKS

Predators lead series 2-1

All games broadcast on 102.5-FM

Game 1: Nashville 3, Anaheim 2 (OT)

Game 2: Anaheim 5, Nashville 3

Game 3: Nashville 2, Anaheim 1

Thursday: at Nashville, 7 p.m. (NBC SN)

Saturday: at Anaheim, 6:15 p.m. (NBC)

x — Monday: at Nashville, 7 p.m. (NBC SN)

x — May 24: at Anaheim, 8 p.m. (NBC SN)

x — if necessary