STOCKHOLM – When the game was over, when the festivities had concluded, Filip Forsberg gathered all his teammates to deliver a message: He wanted to thank them.

He knew it wasn’t easy flying all the way to Stockholm in the middle of the season, knew that some of them had battled jet lag, had tasted foods they never imagined.

But, to him, it meant the world, in games that he called probably his favorite of his NHL career.

“It’s been unbelievable,” said Forsberg, who grew up about three hours north of Stockholm in Leksand, Sweden. “It’s been so much fun. I’ve had both sets of grandparents here. I’ve had family that you only see a week or two in the summer that have been watching their first NHL games. Eaten more meatballs than anyone on this team ever thought they would eat, probably. I don’t think we’ll see another meatball for a while.”

Which was why he made sure to thank his Nashville Predators teammates.

“It’s special, you could see how much it meant to them. Even after the game, ‘Fil’ said something to the group, that was really nice. Thanked everyone for their effort in coming here,” Predators forward Ryan O’Reilly said. “It was nice of him. You could tell it meant a lot to those guys.”

Forsberg and Adam Wilsby, the two Sweden natives on the Predators, put together a week to remember for their teammates, squeezing every moment out of the six days they spent in their home country. Though the week didn’t end the way they had hoped – they dropped a 4-0 game to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday at Avicii Arena in Stockholm after winning 2-1 in overtime on Friday – they were still thrilled at what had been.

“Speaking for me, for ‘Willy,’ I’m sure he feels the same way, obviously would have been even sweeter to have another win on the plane home with us, but overall it’s a great, great week,” said Forsberg, for whom Sunday also happened to mark his 800th game in the NHL.

The best moment, for Forsberg, and for the Predators, came on Friday night, with 70 seconds remaining in regulation. That was when Forsberg scored to tie the game, unleashing an outpouring of emotion, of joy.