Five Things: Preds at the First Quarter Mark

After playing every other night for the past two weeks, the Nashville Predators at last have a bit of a breather before this weekend's back-to-back home games.
That gives us an opportunity to look back at the team's performance during the first quarter of the season.
The Preds may have struggled to get their footing early in the season, but are steaming into December after posting nine victories in November - second-best in the Western Conference.

Here are five things that have stood out for the Predators during the first quarter of their season:
Pekka's in Peak Form:
A three-time Vezina Trophy finalist during his 11-year NHL career, Predators goalie Pekka Rinne has put together plenty of great stretches between the pipes.
But he's playing right now as well as he ever has over a significant period of time.
When Rinne picked up a win against Colorado on Tuesday, he put the finishing touches on a ridiculous November. Rinne went 9-1-2 during the month, posting a save percentage of .949 and a goals against average of 1.49, both of which are his top numbers in any calendar month in which he played at least three games. He finished first among NHL goalies in save percentage and goals against in November, and tied for first in victories. His nine wins tie his third-highest total for one month and represent his best mark since November of 2014.

Another way of looking at Rinne's run: In seven of his 12 November starts, he allowed one goal or less.
"It's a nice feeling, a good feeling" Rinne said recently of the extended excellence. "You just try to stay in it. The goalie position] is such a position of confidence, and it impacts our game so much. Right now I'm trying to enjoy it."
**A Star in the Making?**
**[Video: PIT@NSH: Arvidsson tips home his second of the game
The Predators had high hopes for forward Viktor Arvidsson coming into this season, after he topped a successful first full NHL campaign in 2015-16 with an overtime playoff goal against San Jose.
But it's safe to say that Arvidsson's growth so far this season has exceeded expectations. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound sparkplug already has 14 points (7g-7a) in 22 games after totaling 16 points (8g-8a) in 56 contests last year.
Arvidsson is second on the team in shots on goal behind James Neal, and also has a Preds-best 55.2 percent Corsi rating, a measure of how well the team controls the puck when a player is on the ice.
Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette promoted Arvidsson to the team's top line the first week in November, a wise move considering the blend of speed, skill and relentless drive he brings alongside Ryan Johansen and Neal.
"There's always something going on when he's on the ice," Laviolette said. "He's constantly in motion. He's just a noticeable player out on the ice. And I think the more he grows with experience, the more you're going to notice him."
Home Ice a Fortress:**

Heading into this weekend's back-to-back home contests against New Jersey and Philadelphia, the Predators are 8-1-1 at Bridgestone Arena, and carry an .850 winning percentage that is the best in the Western Conference and third-best overall in the League. The Preds are one of three Western Conference teams that's suffered just one home regulation loss this season, and that defeat came way back on Oct. 18 to Dallas.
What may be the most impressive home stat is one of the simplest - the Predators have outscored opponents by a whopping 35-13 in the 10 contests at Bridgestone Arena. Among the list of Preds' home victims are Chicago, Pittsburgh and St. Louis.
The fact the Preds had sellout crowds for each of their first 10 home games was surely a boost.
"It feels like a playoff atmosphere every game here," Johansen said. "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - whatever day it is - fans come in here and give us such great support. We've really been feeding off that and having a good time here at home."
Superb Second Periods:

On Tuesday night in Denver, the Predators and Avalanche began the second period tied 1-1. But Arvidsson scored just seven seconds into the frame to put the Predators ahead and Kevin Fiala added a goal at the 3:04 mark for a 3-1 Nashville lead.
That quick pair of goals - which helped the Preds to a 5-3 victory - was the latest illustration of Nashville's second-period dominance this season. Through the season's first 22 games, the Preds have outscored opponents by a whopping 31-16 margin during the game's second 20 minutes.
It's hard to pinpoint an exact reason why Nashville has been so good in the second period this season, but something is certainly going right, as the Preds have scored almost half their season total of goals (31 of 65) during the second stanza.
"I really don't know if there is any rhyme or reason to that," Preds forward Colin Wilson said with a smile, "but maybe it means we have to be better in the first and third periods."
Penalty Kill a Strength:
The Predators were all but impenetrable on the penalty kill in November, allowing just one goal on opponents' 41 power-play attempts - a 97.6 success rate that topped the League. Rinne deserves much of the credit, as a goalie is always considered the team's top penalty-killer. But four Preds defensemen (Ryan Ellis, Mattias Ekholm, P.K. Subban and Roman Josi) averaged more than two minutes per game shorthanded in November, and five Preds forwards (Calle Jarnkrok, Filip Forsberg, Colton Sissons, Austin Watson and Mike Fisher) averaged more than a minute per game shorthanded during those 14 contests.
The Predators had struggled on the penalty kill in October, perhaps adjusting to the departure of two of last year's top penalty killers - Shea Weber and Paul Gaustad. But November's nearly perfect shorthanded stretch has helped the Preds move from 29th to eighth overall in that department.