The stats-minded hockey community is often accused of being overly negative. I do partially understand how annoying it can be to constantly have some blogger raining on the parade. However, the purpose of performing analysis is to gain some degree of predictability.

Quite frankly, if anyone can look at recent performances by the Nashville Predators and predict a positive outcome, they don’t deserve your clicks. This will not be an optimistic article.

Pittsburgh exposed the hell out of a team that has more questions than answers this season. In the midst of getting clobbered, Nashville scrambled to find any combination of forwards that would work. None did.

Let’s get specific, though. Where exactly did the breakdowns occur? All the values below are from five-on-five (no special teams included). If you are curious about how and why these possession metrics are used, I really encourage you to check out our Approachable Analytics series.

Forwards

Once the dust settled, the Predators had attempted seven different combinations of their twelve forwards. These changes affected everyone except Johansen’s line, so most every combo’s time on ice was relatively low.

Ironically, it was Johansen’s line that really underperformed. They were faced with a very tough assignment in Sidney Crosby’s line, but it’s fair to ask for a more even battle than JoFA was able to muster.

A silver lining to the game is that a second line of Mikael Granlund, Kyle Turris, and Craig Smith received decent ice time. I’ve been advocating for this combination since the trade deadline, and it was easily Nashville’s best group of the night. I really hope they keep the trio together in future games.

The third line of Colton Sissons, Nick Bonino, and Rocco Grimaldi faced a very difficult assignment, with relatively “blah” results.

There was no consistent fourth line. Some combination of Brian Boyle, Calle Jarnkrok, Wayne Simmonds, Craig Smith, and Rocco Grimaldi occupied the spot at various points, but the time on ice for each group is so minimal that looking at the individual results is pointless.

Defensemen

I don’t recall the last time I saw so many mistakes from every defenseman in one game. Mistakes, though, are excusable. Missing assignments repeatedly? Not so much.

Especially during the second period, it appeared as though there was some force field between the faceoff dots and Pekka Rinne that only Penguins players could enter. Crosby and Rust produced so many passes through the crease, there was probably a line carved in the ice. Only by the grace of Pekka Rinne did none of these chances find the net (although Bryan Rust’s goal was the result of a pass TO the crease).

While the top four were hanging on for dear life, Matt Irwin and Yannick Weber were primarily glued to the bench. Their six minutes of five-on-five ice time is the lowest in recent memory.

As you peruse the internet today, you will probably find some folks singing the praises of the Nashville Predators for their rescuing a point from the game. There will be those who scoff at me for writing this doom-and-gloom piece.

There is one single reason the Nashville Predators escaped with a point from last night’s game, and I’m sure you’ve already guessed it.

Pekka Rinne

Fresh from his best game in months, I was slightly concerned about the selection of Pekka Rinne as the starting goaltender last night. I mean this in no way as a criticism. He worked so hard and played so well against Toronto, I thought it best to give him a night off and let Saros flex his muscles.

Rinne, for the second game in a row, was superb. He faced eight shots from high-danger scoring chances alone, allowing only one to find the net. Meanwhile, he made all of the low- and mid-danger saves requested of him.

There isn’t much more to say about last night’s game. The Predators continue to fumble around while opposing teams glide into the attacking zone with ease. Nashville produces scoring chances at a glacial pace (in fact, they produced just one high-danger scoring chance, on average, every fifteen minutes last night). Their power play would be a fireable offense for many teams.

If this team has playoff success in any capacity, I will be more than happy to eat my words.