TAMPA Anthony Duclair Jersey Womens , Fla. (AP) Filip Forsberg came up big for the Nashville Predators in his return after sitting out a game.Forsberg had two goals and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday night. He was held out of the previous night’s lopsided loss to Buffalo for maintenance purposes.”It’s a big win and a good test for us going up against one of the best teams in the league,” Forsberg said. ”This is the way it’s going to be in the playoffs, especially on the road, so it was good.”Craig Smith and Ryan Johansen also scored to help Nashville move closer to securing the first division title in franchise history, with the Predators’ magic number to clinch the Central at two points.”I think the guys played smart and that’s all on them,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. ”They had a meeting. They weren’t happy with (Saturday’s loss) and they straightened it out. They played a smart, hard game, especially with the turnaround.”Tampa Bay, which went 0 for 5 on the power play, played the final two periods without captain Steven Stamkos, who left the game with an undisclosed lower-body injury. Coach Jon Cooper did not have an update on Stamkos after the game.Ondrej Palat scored while Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 21 shots for the Lightning, who have lost four of five to fall two points behind the Boston Bruins for the top spot in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.”We don’t like to lose games Womens Josh Anderson Jersey , that’s bottom line,” Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman said. ”We want to win every game. But we are looking at the big picture and hopefully there is two or three months left in the season, we want to play the right way.”Nashville opened up the scoring as Johansen led a 2-on-1 rush and pulled the puck back before beating Vasilevskiy with a wrist shot 7:50 into the game.The Predators doubled their lead early in the second with one second remaining on a power paly as Forsberg’s shot deflected off the stick of Tampa Bay defenseman Anton Stralman and trickled through Vasilevskiy’s pads at 2:46.Palat pulled the Lightning within a goal at 7:32 as he was open in the slot to take a pass from Stralman and fired a shot from between the circles for his 10th.Forsberg scored his second of the night, skating around Dan Girardi to get to the top of the crease and sip the puck under Vasilevskiy at 6:24 to make it 3-1.Smith put the game away, taking a long pass from Mattias Ekholm and skating in alone to put a shot off the inside of the far post at 9:29.”We just give up too many easy ones, they are too easy,” Cooper said. ”It’s not like they are spending an ounce of time in our zone, they just go down and find open space.”NOTES: Tampa Bay RW Ryan Callahan returned to the lineup after missing five games with an upper-body injury. … Nashville leading goal-scorer LW Viktor Arvidsson missed the game with an undisclosed lower-body injury. … The Lightning have allowed the opening goal in five consecutive games. … Forsberg is the second player in franchise history to reach 60 points three different times, joining J.P. Dumont. … Saros improved to 8-0-2 this season when starting on the second night of a back-to-back games for the PredatorsUP NEXTLightning: Host Boston on Tuesday night.Predators: At Florida on Tuesday night. DENVER (AP) Now that was more of the start Nashville was looking for. The finish? Not as much.Filip Forsberg scored another creative goal, Pekka Rinne rebounded from a rocky performance with 31 saves, and the Predators withstood a furious rally by the Colorado Avalanche for a 3-2 win in Game 4 on Wednesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.”I guess probably some teams, every once in a while Chris Kreider Jersey , can say everything is perfect. Everything is awesome,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. ”But most times you’re trying to work on something, trying to get better at something.”For the first time all series, the Avs were held scoreless in the opening period and the Predators built a 3-0 cushion heading into the final period.Colton Sissons and Craig Smith also scored for the Predators, who can close out the series Friday when it shifts back to Nashville for Game 5.”We don’t want it to end at all,” Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon said. ”We’re still in it. It’s not over yet.”Rinne was solid early after being pulled from the last game. Cruising along and up 3-0, the Vezina Trophy finalist allowed Gabriel Landeskog’s 5-on-3 power-play goal in the third and another on Alexander Kerfoot’s tap-in off a rebound with 8:59 remaining.Colin Wilson nearly tied with about 2 minutes left when his shot appeared to hit the post. The Avalanche pulled backup goalie Andrew Hammond late, but couldn’t get the tying goal. Tyson Jost sent a shot over the net at the buzzer.”It was a good push by them,” Forsberg said.Forsberg worked his puck-handling magic in the first period by dancing around defenseman Duncan Siemens and juking Jonathan Bernier for his third goal of the series. The ever-creative Forsberg had an artistic goal in Game 1 as well, when he sent the puck through the defenseman’s legs before scoring.”Just tried to use my speed wide and use that speed all the way around the net,” Forsberg said.Bernier allowed three goals on 26 shots before being replaced by Hammond to start the third period due to a lower body injury. Hammond had eight saves.Forsberg and his crew came out with a little more spring in their skates for Game 4. This may have played a role: The team went through an up-tempo practice the day before. It was a way to avoid a sluggish start like Monday when Colorado scored three times in the first period of Game 3.The strategy worked. Nashville controlled the tempo except for a frenzied stretch in the third.”We knew we weren’t going to go 16-0,” Forsberg said. ”We were going to lose a game throughout these playoffs and obviously we were just looking to bounce back.”Now Henrik Lundqvist Jersey Kids , the Avs are looking to regroup.”I’m obviously upset at the result, but I loved our third, there’s no question,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. ”But we need to find that urgency earlier.”There was a scary moment in the second period when MacKinnon’s stick caught teammate Mikko Rantanen near the eye. Rantanen left with a towel pressed against his face, only to return a few minutes later.But not before the Predators scored another goal as Smith zoomed out of the penalty box and beat Bernier with a wrist shot to make it 3-0.From there, things turned a little testy. Landeskog hit a tumbling Ryan Johansen, who headed to the dressing room. He returned in the third period.P.K. Subban got the crowd fired up early by shooting a puck into Colorado’s net in the pregame warmups. He’s stepped into the villain’s role after delivering a blow to the side of MacKinnon’s helmet during Game 3. Subban was booed each time he touched the puck.The Predators came out firing on all cylinders, even going on an early 5-on-3 power play for 1:20. They but couldn’t get anything past Bernier, but they did knock Bernier’s mask momentarily out of commission when Viktor Arvidsson’s slap shot caught him square him in the cage. Bernier skated over to the bench to grab his backup one. He later returned to his original one.NOTES: Predators F Calle Jarnkrok returned after missing the last 16 games with an upper-body injury. … Rinne felt honored to be a finalist for the award that goes to the league’s top goaltender. ”Even though it’s an individual award, I couldn’t do it without my teammates,” he said. … Avs D Samuel Girard missed a third straight game with an upper-body injury. … Avs F Carl Soderberg took a bit hit from RW Ryan Hartman in the third that drew a charging penalty.—