Pekka Rinne, Predators shut out Oilers

NASHVILLE -- Pekka Rinne made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season, and the Nashville Predators defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-0 at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.
The Predators (25-18-8) are 14-5-6 at home and have gone 8-2-1 in their past 11 games.

"We've had a really good few weeks here," Rinne said. "This is the time of the year where you try to make separation and also catch up to some of the teams. Huge two points for us."
WATCH: All Oilers vs. Predators highlights
Edmonton (28-17-8) has lost two in a row and is 7-2-1 in its past 10 games.
"That was a playoff game," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "I thought it had playoff intensity. We're at that time of year. We didn't make many mistakes. We made a few and they capitalized on it. I thought they had more players going than we did. We missed some guys that we have to count on. There's a few players that played on the power play, played a lot of minutes and didn't even get a shot on goal tonight."

Viktor Arvidsson gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 1:26 of the second period. Forward Ryan Johansen passed it to Arvidsson, who beat Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot for his 13th goal. Talbot made 25 saves.
Johansen made it 2-0 with 38.2 seconds remaining in the second on a tic-tac-toe play. Forward Filip Forsberg maneuvered around three Oilers and passed the puck to Arvidsson, who set up Johansen for the one-timer for his ninth goal.
"I haven't tried that in my whole NHL career, so for a guy to have confidence against NHL defensemen and be able to pull that stuff off, it's impressive," Johansen said. "Even as [Forsberg's] linemate watching that, he really does have an elite level of talent."

Goal of the game

Arvidsson's slap shot from the right faceoff circle beat Talbot on the glove side above the shoulder.

Save of the game

Rinne made a kick save against Oilers forward Mark Letestu in the first period on an Oilers power play. Letestu got to the rebound of a shot, and Rinne was able to recover and swing his pad across the crease to make the save.

Unsung performance of the game

Predators defenseman Matt Irwin broke up a 2-on-1 rush in the second period to preserve a 1-0 lead. Oilers captain Connor McDavid attempted a cross-ice pass intended for forward Leon Draisaitl, but Irwin reacted quickly.

Highlight of the game

Johansen had a wide-open net on his goal after Forsberg and Arvidsson drew Talbot and the Oilers defenders away from him. Forsberg got around Adam Larsson, Draisaitl and Pat Maroon to start the play.

They said it

"My quick assessment is we're making the wrong choices. We're allowing, not the players or the opposition to beat us, we're allowing our systems to beat us. We're kind of playing into their hands with a few turnovers and such. -- Oilers forward Matt Hendricks
"Well, we're all really good looking. That kind of says it all. I'm just kidding. We all bring something different to the table. Me and [Forsberg] have the big size and like to hold on to pucks, protect pucks and can use that. [Arvidsson], obviously we know how speedy he is. He creates space with his work ethic and when his legs are moving. A lot of talent in those two. It's a lot of fun playing with them." -- Predators forward Ryan Johansen on what makes his line successful

Need to know

McDavid (2-of-7) and Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (6-of-22) were a combined 8-of-29 on faceoffs. … Rinne is 8-0-0 with three shutouts in his past eight games against the Oilers. … Johansen has two goals and six assists in his past six games. … Oilers forward Milan Lucic played his 700th NHL game. … Predators defenseman Roman Josi missed his ninth consecutive game with an upper-body injury. He participated in a full practice Wednesday.

What's next

Oilers: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; SN, SN1, FS-CR, NHL.TV)
Predators: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-D, FS-TN, NHL.TV)