Nashville Predators need goalie Pekka Rinne to return to form
Rinne slump comes at worst possible time for Preds
For the better part of six months, Pekka Rinne hoisted the Predators onto his shoulders and carried them to the NHL playoffs. He was clearly the team's MVP.
It's starting to look like it took too much out of him.
Rinne simply hasn't been his usual dominant self in goal during the first four games of the Nashville-Anaheim series. At a time of the year when superior goaltending is critical, Rinne is in a slump.
"Obviously, you take it kind of personal," he said. "You don't feel good about it. But at the same time you have no other choice. It's the best time of the year and you just have to respect the situation and bounce back."
On a team known for its resilience, Rinne fits right in. That's why he welcomes the opportunity to skate back into goal tonight at Anaheim with the series tied 2-2.
"The best part of these playoffs is you have a chance to bounce back right away," he said. "I expect nothing else."
Clearly, though, something is amiss. The numbers don't lie.
In the regular season, his save percentage was .930 and goals-against average was 2.12, both second-best in the NHL. In four playoff games, those numbers have dipped to .860 and 3.73. He was pulled with 13:14 remaining in Game 4 after surrendering Anaheim's sixth goal.
In that game, the Ducks scored twice in a 33-second span of the first period and then put three goals together in 5:29 during the third period. In Game 2, Anaheim scored twice in 28 seconds in the first period.
"They seem to be scoring in bunches in a really short period of time," Rinne said. "Obviously, that's something we need to correct."
But those calling for Anders Lindback to replace Rinne in goal are far, far off base. The Preds got to the playoffs because of Rinne. Their postseason fate lies in his glove.
One theory on Rinne's struggles is that he is simply worn down by his heavy workload in the regular season. He started 64 games, including 28 of the last 29 as the Preds clawed into the playoffs. That's one of the reasons Coach Barry Trotz pulled him in the third period of Game 4.
"Pekka has played a lot of hockey for us so we made the switch to let him rest and regroup a little bit," Trotz said.
Truth be told, a goalie is a lot like a quarterback in football. He gets too much credit when his team wins and too much blame when his team loses.
Certainly, Rinne's statistical dip is not all his fault. The Ducks' first two lines are loaded with lethal offensive threats that few teams possess. Six of Anaheim's 14 goals against Rinne have come on the power play, including two in 5-on-3 situations.
Beyond that, the Preds haven't handled the detail work on defense up to their usual standards. Rinne sees a lot of traffic.
"It's easy for people to point at the goalie but it's not all on him," said captain Shea Weber. "We've got to do a better job of taking some of the pressure off him."
But Anaheim seems to have found some weaknesses in Rinne's game that other teams have missed. Conversely, Nashville has been unable to fully exploit Anaheim goalie Ray Emery's limited lateral range.
It has not gone unnoticed that the Ducks are firing pucks high to Rinne's right ? his stick side.
"We think there are areas where he is more susceptible than others," said Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle. "? When we get on him, there is a good possibility to put pucks on him in certain areas.
"I don't think in any terms you can say he's not a good goalie. He's a great goalie. But if you can get traffic to the net, there are certain tendencies of the way he plays and where his positioning is."
With the Preds facing yet another Biggest Game In Franchise History, it's time for Pekka Rinne to stand tall in net.
