Dante Fabbro headed down a Bridgestone Arena hallway late on the night of Dec. 19.

The Nashville Predators defenseman wore a suit, a tie and a look of chagrin as he made his way out of the building. Fabbro was all dressed up with one place to go — home, after he was a healthy scratch for the third game in a row.

That recent absence wasn't the first such three-game stretch of the season for Fabbro, who also sat out three consecutive games in late November after Luke Schenn returned from injured reserve.

The 25-year-old has been a healthy scratch nine times — somewhat puzzling, given his passing-the-eye-test performance.

So, what gives?

"He was really consistent early and we took him out, which you can argue was fair or unfair," Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. "We put him back in and he struggled a little bit and let himself go a little bit.

"We had a conversation about that and he's come back and he's been really good again."

Andrew Brunette: 'They're hard decisions'

Part of the problem, Brunette said, was the logjam of defensemen on the roster.

Someone has to sit.

Sometimes that someone is Tyson Barrie, who not long ago asked to be traded.

Most times it has been Fabbro, whose name has been sprinkled in trade talks.

"They're hard decisions," Brunette said of choosing scratches. "They're not fun for a coach. . . . It's hard to let a player know he's not playing, especially when I feel he deserves to play."

And Fabbro feels like he deserves to play.

Talking out of turn isn't his thing. The player former general manager David Poile deemed a big part of the reason the team was willing to trade P.K. Subban in 2019 is in his fifth full season.

He has matched his goal total — two — from last season. He's playing 17 minutes, 25 seconds per game. The knocks on him include his lack of blocked shots (40 as of Dec. 22) and hits (19).

But his expected goals against per 60 minutes is 2.49, which is tops on the team and 37th in the league going into the weekend. His 52.26 shot attempts against per 60 is third.

"We're winning games right now, which is important," Fabbro said. "It's not my decision if I'm in or out. All I can do is be prepared every night.

"I feel like I'm playing good. Being in and out, sometimes it's tough to find consistency but it's on me to be prepared."

Dante Fabbro: 'I try not to think about it'

One thing he can't necessarily prepare for is being traded.

He has heard the rumors, said he doesn't pay attention to such noise.

But he can't avoid it completely.

"You see stuff," he said. "I try not to think about it.

"If it happens, it happens. It's part of the business. I'm with the Preds and my focus is with the Preds and it always has been with the Preds."

As for being a healthy scratch?

"If I'm not playing, all I can do is bust my ass to get better," he said.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What Nashville Predators' Dante Fabbro deals with as healthy scratch