Filip Forsberg got his regular-season first hat trick, and the Nashville Predators kept up their dominance against Canadian teams. Forsberg became the youngest player in franchise history to get a hat trick, helping the Nashville Predators beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 Tuesday night. The 21-year-old Forsberg is also the fifth Predator to post a natural hat trick. His outburst helped Nashville improve to 11-1-3 in its last 15 games against Canadian teams, and the Predators also got points on the road for the ninth straight game — the franchise's longest such streak. Forsberg had a hat trick in the playoffs last season but never before in the regular season. He is enjoying a dominant February with nine goals in 11 games, and the 11th overall pick in the 2012 NHL draft has 23 goals this season, overtaking James Neal for the team lead. Carter Hutton stopped 25 shots for the Predators. James Reimer made 23 saves for the Leafs. Josh Leivo and Morgan Rielly scored for Toronto. Nashville has outscored Canadian foes 47-28 during its 15-game string of dominance. The Predators won Tuesday without captain Shea Weber, who is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Weber played nearly 29 minutes in Montreal Monday night. Forsberg scored in a variety of ways against the Maple Leafs. He broke free of the Toronto defense for his first goal, beating Reimer in alone on an early first-period power play. He added his second when Craig Smith stole Reimer's hand-off behind the Leafs net, sneaking a shot through the goaltender's pads. He completed the hat trick with a point-shot rebound. Nashville holds the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference and last lost in regulation on the road on Jan. 12. The club is 9-3-3 in its last 15 games overall. The Leafs, meanwhile, continue to languish with an ever-depleted lineup. Toronto is already dealing with injuries to a number of key players and dealt away forwards Shawn Matthias and Nick Spaling and defenseman Roman Polak in recent days. Stars 5, Jets 3: Two late goals by center Jamie Benn lifted the Dallas Stars to a 5-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. Benn gave his club some breathing room when he whipped in his 31st goal of the season with 5:52 left in the game while Winnipeg was shorthanded to give his club a 4-2 lead. It turned out to be the winner. He then notched his 32nd into an empty net. Hurricanes 3, Flyers 1: The Carolina Hurricanes finished with a flourish after taking nearly half the game to get going, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 at PNC Arena. Left winger Joakim Nordstrom, center Jordan Staal and center Eric Staal scored for the Hurricanes in a matchup of two Metropolitan Division teams trying to move into playoff position. Devils 5, Rangers 2: Right winger Lee Stempniak scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period as the New Jersey Devils defeated the depleted the New York Rangers 5-2 at Prudential Center. The Rangers were without Ryan McDonagh and Marc Staal, two of their top defensemen, due to injury. Lightning 2, Coyotes 1: The Tampa Bay Lightning continued their hot streak, getting a shorthanded penalty-shot goal from center Cedric Paquette on the way to a 2-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes at Amalie Arena. Tampa Bay (34-22-4) has now won four straight — its second-longest win streak of the season — heading into a four-game road trip. Backup Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy took a shutout into the third period Tuesday as starter Ben Bishop got the night off. Red Wings 2, Blue Jackets 1 (SO): Centers Riley Sheahan and Andreas Athanasiou scored in a shootout to give the Detroit Red Wings a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings ended their four-game losing streak (0-2-2). Other results: Islanders 4, Wild 1; Senators 4, Oilers 1; Kings 2, Flames 1.
