Article content

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

They’re great friends, former linemates both on the Swedish national team and in the Leksands club organization in their homeland.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Young best friends De La Rose, Forsberg excited to meet as opponents Back to video

But on Tuesday, Canadiens’ Jacob De La Rose and Filip Forsberg of the Nashville Predators faced each other on opposite sides of the ice for the first time ever.

Young blood? De la Rose, 19 years and 10 months old, and Forsberg, 20 years and seven months, are together half a year younger than Habs greybeard defenceman Sergei Gonchar, who’s 40 years and 11 months.

These two talented pups speak on the phone at least once a week, often more, and on Monday night they headed out to dinner here to catch up on “old times,” relatively speaking.

“We’re almost like brothers,” De La Rose said of Forsberg after the Canadiens’ morning skate at Bridgestone Arena. “It will be a strange feeling to play against him and not with him.”

In a dressing room down the hall, Forsberg said he “wasn’t surprised at all” by the excellent impression his pal was making in Montreal.