Saros, Rinne help Predators shut out Stars in exhibition

Juuse Saros and Pekka Rinne combined for 26 saves when the Nashville Predators defeated the Dallas Stars 2-0 in an exhibition game at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Thursday.

"We have two goalies we think can help us win and it was nice to see them both perform well," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "We'll take a day here to evaluate. Obviously, we don't play until Sunday and then we'll make our decision."

Viktor Arvidsson scored two goals and Filip Forsberg had two assists for the Predators, who enter the Stanley Cup Qualifiers as the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference.

Saros, who started the game, made 12 saves in 30:32 of ice time, and Rinne made 14 in relief. Hynes hasn't named the starter for Game 1 against the Arizona Coyotes, the No. 11 seed, in a best-of-5 qualifier series in Edmonton, the Western hub city, beginning Sunday (2 p.m. ET; USA, NHL.TV, SN360, FS-TN, FS-A). The winner of the best of-5 series advances to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"I thought [Saros] looked like his normal self, he was very confident, made some big saves and was in the right position," Hynes said. "When [Rinne] came in ... I think his first shot was a half-breakaway on a breakdown and he made some good saves down the stretch."

Saros took over as the No. 1 goalie after Rinne struggled this season and was 12-5-1 with a 2.22 goals-against average and .934 save percentage in his past 20 games (18 starts) before the NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. Rinne was 4-6-1 with a 3.59 GAA and .895 save percentage in that span.

Since 2010, Rinne has started every Stanley Cup Playoff games in Predators history

The line of center Ryan Johansen with left wing Forsberg and Arvidsson combined for four points and 10 shots on goal. The three were reunited at the start of training camp after playing together for 124 minutes during the regular season; they were together for 523 minutes in 2018-19.

"We were all disappointed a little about how we played, individually, during the regular season so I think the break was a good refresher for me to get my mind off hockey, take a step back and look at it a little differently," Forsberg said. "Coming back, I was really excited to get going and getting back with [Johansen and Arvidsson], it was like that chemistry was there from day one and that just increased the excitement even more."

Forsberg had 48 points (21 goals) in 63 games, Johansen had 36 points in 68 games and Arvidsson had 28 points in 57 games. Forsberg scored at least 26 goals in each of his previous five seasons; Johansen scored at least 54 points in each of his previous three seasons; and Arvidsson scored at least 48 points in each of his previous three seasons.

"Whatever happened in the regular season felt a couple seasons ago," Forsberg said. "We're starting fresh."

Ben Bishop made 16 saves on 18 shots in 30:32 of ice time for the Stars. He was replaced by Anton Khudobin, who made nine saves.

Dallas was without forward Tyler Seguin (unfit to play), Video: Arvidsson nets two to lead Predators past Stars. Forward Andrew Cogliano (undisclosed) left 15:18 into the first period.

Stars coach Rick Bowness had no update on Seguin or Cogliano. As part of the NHL Return to Play Plan, a team is not permitted to disclose player injury or illness information.

"I thought we were a little slow releasing the puck ... giving them too much time to get into the shooting lane," Bowness said. "We didn't get good wood on it. Give them credit, but there's a responsibility of our shooters to get that puck down by the net."

Rookie forward Ty Dellandrea, who took Seguin's place in the lineup, played 9:39.

"I felt more comfortable as each period went on," Dellandrea said. "I'm trying to learn the game at this level and keep improving."

Nashville blocked 23 shots, including five by defenseman Roman Josi.

The Stars play their first round-robin game against the Vegas Golden Knights at Rogers Place on Monday (6:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, NHL.TV, SN1, ATTSN-RM, FS-SW). They also play the Colorado Avalanche (Aug. 5) and the St. Louis Blues (Aug. 9) to determine seeding for the playoffs.

"Some things we need to improve," Stars captain Jamie Benn said. "We're going to look at it, our coaches will dissect it. Now the real game begins Monday. We'll take the good out of it and improve on the bad."

NHL.com senior fantasy editor Pete Jensen contributed to this report