Nashville Predators: Is Pekka Rinne Himself Again?

The Nashville Predators look like they may have seen the return of elite play from their former Vezina Trophy finalist goaltender.

The Nashville Predators have always been known for great goaltending and outstanding defenses. In recent years under Coach Peter Laviolette the Preds have focused on becoming a high scoring offense.

So far at the beginning of this season we haven’t scored enough goals when they were needed. I still believe that this team’s offense can be one of the better ones this year, especially now that our powerplay seems to be playing on all cylinders.

Through the first three games the Nashville Predators came out scoring low against Chicago and Dallas, winning only one of the three match ups. Along with the powerplay there has been one other bright spot- Pekka Rinne in net.

Opening night he gave the home crowd a great win against division rival Chicago, and Tuesday night he played a great game against one of the best offenses in the league with Dallas. So let’s take a look at his stats from his two game sample.

Pekka vs. Chicago Blackhawks:

Win, 2 goals against, 24 shots against, 22 shots saved, .917 save percentage

Pekka vs. Dallas Stars:

Loss, 2 goals against, 37 shots against, 35 shots saved, .946 save percentage

Rinne is at his best when he faces a lot of shots as the game goes on. In both games Pekka gave up only two goals against two offensive power houses. And as the game went on he made bigger and better saves. Following the Chicago win P.K. Subban mentioned something in his presser that was very interesting.

Let’s give credit where credit is due. Pekka, played outstanding today and to be honest with you he looks like the guy I saw who was on his way to winning a Vezina not too long ago. That makes me feel really really good having a guy back there doing what he’s doing out there right now. As long as we get that from him we got a chance every night, and he’s gonna give us a chance every night he’s that good.

He’s absolutely right. The two games Pekka played in he gave The Nashville Predators the chance and ability to win. The Preds PP pulled them past Chicago, but the offense fell short against Dallas. It reminds me too much of the 2011 Nashville Predators. Pekka making

Last season we had and still have the knockout punch type players with James Neal, Ryan Johansen, Roman Josi, and Filip Forsberg but we couldn’t stand tall in the ring because our goaltending was lacking consistency. We can’t expect Pekka to save us like the days of old every night especially since he is 33 years old. The Nashville Predators need to do what we needed them get done in 2011. Score goals and give ease the pressure off Rinne.

At 33 Rinne’s time to be an élite goalie again is limited. He has been the biggest question mark to our season and how it could turn out. He’s playing like a Jonathan Quick or a Carey Price now but it may not last 82 games or longer. So the Preds need to get more shots on net and get that puck in the net.

I know its early in the season, literally three games, but Pekka has started to look like the Vezina trophy finalist of the past. If he can continue and be consistent then he gives The Nashville Predators a chance to win every night. Now we need our goal scorers to score goals, and we’ll be on our way to having another great season.