NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- No matter whether the Edmonton Oilers have been good or bad, regardless of whether the Nashville Predators have been mediocre or above average, Pekka Rinne is a lock to give them two points against Edmonton.

Thursday night was no exception, as Rinne stopped 31 shots in his 42nd career shutout, a 2-0 victory at Bridgestone Arena.

In winning his eighth straight start against the Oilers since 2014, Rinne (20-13-6) posted his third shutout in that stretch. It was the second blanking this season for Rinne, who made 27 saves in the last two periods as Edmonton kept chasing the game to no avail.

"I've seen the stats, but I really haven't thought about that," he said. "It's funny how that goes. You always seem to have a lot of success against one team and they're that team. But every game is a new game and they have a totally new team this year with a lot of skill."

But all that skill meant absolutely nothing against Rinne, who lowered his goals-against average against the Oilers (28-17-8) to 0.98 during his unbeaten stretch. Edmonton's top 10 offense created plenty of pressure in the third period, but Rinne remained unruffled and unbeatable.

"It feels good to walk away with a shutout, but we gave up a lot of chances to a talented team," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "The fact that it remained zero has a lot to do with (Rinne). They got some good looks, but it seems like he saw everything pretty clear."

Rinne's best saves might have come consecutively during the second period when defenseman Oscar Klefbom got three straight Grade A opportunities near the goal mouth but fired all three into the 6-foot-5 goalie's pads.

The Oilers also had a quality chance to score first during the first period, but Mark Letestu's backhander in the slot was kicked away by Rinne.

"I thought we were light years better today than we were against Minnesota," Edmonton coach Todd McLellan said, referencing his team's 5-2 loss Tuesday night. "We had a commitment level that was much higher, but their goalie played a good game and they had good structure throughout."

The Predators (25-18-8) also came up with the necessary offense in their favorite period, the second, where they've outscored opponents 63-35 this season.

Viktor Arvidsson scored his 13th goal of the season at 1:26 with a blistering slapper from the right faceoff circle that whizzed over the right shoulder of Cam Talbot. Given plenty of room as Ryan Johansen sent him in, Arvidsson continued his breakout season.

The left winger was also involved in the other goal at 19:21, taking Filip Forsberg's pass from the high slot and throwing a cross-ice feed to Johansen at the left faceoff circle. Johansen made no mistake, scoring his ninth goal of the season to finish off an exquisite passing sequence.

"We're all good-looking," Johansen joked when asked to explain the line's recent success. "We all bring something to the table. Viktor has that speed and Filip has that shot."

Laviolette said the emergence of Arvidsson, who entered the season with only eight career goals, has enabled that line to blossom into a consistent threat.

"Ryan and Filip have played together before, so they have chemistry," Laviolette said. "I think that Arvy evolving into the player that he is with his speed and tenacity ... it's added something to that line."

Those two goals were one more than Rinne needed, thanks to his work and his defense corps. NHL scoring leader Connor McDavid never got a quality chance as the defense pairing of Ryan Ellis and Matt Irwin bottled him up at every turn.

Talbot (26-14-7) bagged 25 saves for the Oilers, who have lost two straight since collecting points in eight straight games before the All-Star break.

NOTES: Edmonton LW Milan Lucic played his 700th career game. He has played more games than anyone drafted in 2006, when he was tabbed in the second round, except Phil Kessel (799), Jordan Staal (731) and Nicklas Backstrom (702). ... Nashville D Roman Josi (concussion) skated at practice Thursday morning but missed his ninth straight game. ... The Oilers scratched C Anton Lander, LW Jujhar Khaira and D Eric Gryba. Predators scratches were D Brad Hunt, C Derek Grant and C Mike Ribeiro.