For legal reasons, we have to call what happened last night a “hockey game.” But honestly, I found myself looking for an excuse to do anything but watch this “event.” It happened though, so let’s go go through it and promise ourselves to never think of it ever again afterwards.

The Nashville Predators lost to the Anaheim Ducks in the shootout as John Gibson bailed out his squad for the one-millionth time in 19 games. One point to start the “death valley” trip isn’t bad though, the real issue is in the underlying numbers. Make no mistake, the Ducks are a pretty bad team. They rank 30th in Corsi For percentage, 31st in Fenwick For percentage, 31st in scoring chance share, and 31st in high danger chance share for at five on five, yet they beat the Predators in every category on Monday.

Let’s go through each line and assign some grades, mostly so we can go on about our business. All numbers below are at five on five unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Forsberg-Johansen-Sissons

Ryan Johansen probably had the best night of the trio, and he was extremely mediocre. I wasn’t impressed with any of the three, and I don’t understand why Sissons is being tried on this line again and again. He’s a fine player who’s off to a hot start, but Ryan Hartman seems like a much more offensive fit for the first line.

This isn’t a Hartman/first line article though, so let’s go the numbers.

What a mess. Yes, they played mostly against the Kesler shutdown line, but they started in the offensive zone 75% of the time and couldn’t produce a single high danger chance. I’m going to blame it on the time difference because they looked asleep for most of the night. Johansen made a few sublime plays on defense, but Forsberg and Sissons had a rough night in the corners. They collectively lost five battles in the corners and generally had a tough time entering the offensive zone. Again, I like Sissons, but maybe he’s not the best replacement for Arvidsson. I think a “C” is fair, because it was a completely average game.

Smith-Turris-Fiala

This was probably the Predators’ best line all night, and I guess that’s a compliment. They did score a goal, but it seemed awfully lucky. John Gibson’s only mistake all night resulted in an away tally, and I could feel the air escape the Honda Center as it happened, even if I was few thousand miles away. I’m pretty sure everyone had a sense that maybe the Ducks had pushed their luck just a bit too far, but alas, their luck held up.

So their shot attempt differential is pretty great, but it kind of ends there. They failed to produce a high danger chance and gave up one, but there is something interesting I noticed about the Ducks. The Ducks were using Hampus Lindholm, one of the premier defensive defenseman, to shut down Kevin Fiala. When Fiala stepped onto the ice, Lindholm was not far behind and it resulted in some interesting mismatches. Randy Carlyle was happy to allow the Manson pairing and Kesler line tackle the Predators’ first line while Lindholm tried to shut down the second offensive unit. Playing the matchup game within the first 20 games seems a bit pointless, but it shows how much other teams respect Fiala.

The trio was good in the offensive zone, but hot garbage in their own zone. Kyle Turris is a slick passer and has great vision, but he seems to lose that whenever he crosses into his end of the ice. I saw his stumble around a few times, although he was weirdly physical. I know his money is made on the offensive side of the puck, but he needs to pick it up in his own zone.

Craig Smith remains willing to shoot the puck from anywhere on the ice, and honestly, I’m kind of ok with it. At least it’s unpredictable. A “C+” seems reasonable, as they did, at least, score a goal.

Hartman-Bonino-Salomaki

Sometimes, I lay awake at night and worry about my expenses. I’m a man of cheap taste, but I have a serious girlfriend who I want to make my wife, and I’d like to have kids. As every parent can attest, kids are not cheap. There’s the food, shelter, and other necessities, but what about things like school and hockey games? What about the things that make being a child fun? Those aren’t cheap. Well, as I lay awake in the cold clutches of anxiety, I think to myself, “at least I don’t owe Nick Bonino four million dollars a year for the next two years”, and I’m able to relax.

Ok, that might’ve been too rough on Bonino, but this was probably his worst game so far. It’s not surprising though, Miikka Salomaki hasn’t been good this season (or last) and his addition was an overall subtraction for the line. I get that Peter Laviolette didn’t give them an easy assignment, but the Predators need more from their third line.

Do any of us expect Hartman to re-sign if the Predators keep forcing linemates on him that act like they’ve never been in an offensive zone situation? A “D-” seems fair because they played an overall bad game, but they didn’t give up a goal.

Rinaldo-Gaudreau-Bitetto

Once again, the fourth line proved to be of little consequence. Zac Rinaldo got into a decent scrap with Josh Manson, which was a fair trade off in my opinion. Manson is a bonafide top-four defenseman, and I’ll gladly lose five minutes of Rinaldo to take him off the ice.

The stats, as I mentioned, prove to be nothing worth noting. I’m glad they finished above average in terms of possession, but they only played about four minutes together at five on five. Since they didn’t do much and didn’t give up anything, I think an average “C” grade is more than appropriate.

Josi-Ellis

Statistically, this was definitely a game that the duo will try to forget. I actually think Ryan Ellis played decently, but Roman Josi was everywhere in the defensive zone. His “rover-ing” is fun in the offensive zone, but it gives me heart palpitations on the other side of the ice. As the game wore on, he started to tone it down but I believe this was due to him starting to tire. It’s actually a bit funny, as he became more tired, he stopped trying to make the extra play and started making the smart, easy play.

Six high danger chances against is close to unforgivable, there’s no sugar coating it. It’s even worse considering just how bad the Ducks are. The lone Ducks goal was also Josi’s fault. He completely left Getzlaf open in the slot, while he decided to cover the little patch of ice in front of Rinne that was uninhabited. I know it sounds mean, but this is literally hockey 101. Take the man in front while you rely on your center to support.

Instead, Rackell made a slick pass and Getzlaf was able to fire off a nice shot past Rinne. Mistakes happen though. If I were Josi, I wouldn’t worry too much. There’s a shot at redemption tonight against the Sharks. I gave the pairing a “D”, but in fairness, it was an “F” after the second period, so they’re technically on the rise.

Ekholm-Subban

Subban left the game somewhat early with an injury, but came back. It didn’t seem to affect his ice time, but I do think it affected his offensive zone starts. Take a look below.

While Laviolette may have shown mercy in the form of offensive zone starts, there was no such kindness in their matchups. They faced the Ducks’ top two lines just about evenly and did ok. Subban looked like he was laboring for most of the night, but didn’t look out of place in his own zone. I would’ve liked to see him rush the puck more, but his passes were crisp and his vision was just about perfect.

Mattias Ekholm had another consistent game for the most part. He jumped up into the play a few times, which i’m a fan of. I’ve always said that Ekholm is the best “power forward” the Predators have. His ability to control the puck below the goal line in both zones in invaluable and I hope he jumps in more.

I gave the duo a “C-” because they were average, but their high danger chance share was still negative three.

Irwin-Weber

I understand that Bitetto jumped into a defensive spot while Subban was injured, but quite frankly I just want to get this over with. I already feel like I’m spending too much time thinking about this game,  so let’s get on with it.

Irwin and Weber didn’t spend too much time on the ice tonight at five on five. They were mostly reserved for the penalty kill and honestly, did a decent job. They didn’t allow a single high danger chance and were a positive possession duo, not something the third pairing usually does. On top of all that, Irwin actually one or two good defensive stops. I wouldn’t mind seeing him while Dan Hamhuis is out of commission.

Pekka Freaking Rinne

Can you imagine if Pekka Rinne wasn’t spectacular for the Predators? I want you to actually think about. If not for him, this game could’ve easily been three, four, or even five to one. A replacement level goaltender would’ve gotten chased by the end of the second period, but since the Predators have Rinne, they were only down by one.

It’s incredible to see how quickly he moves around the crease when he’s forced to carry the rest of the team on his back. Rinne undoubtedly gets an “A+” in my opinion, and should be furious with the effort in front of him.