Nashville Predator’s goalie Pekka Rinne will is the favorite to win the Vezina trophy this year, he showed why in game one against Colorado.
Are you kidding me?
Pekka Rinne is putting on an absolute show in the Nashville Predators first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Rinne has had a magical season, winning 40 games for the third time in his career. He carried that play over into the postseason and Nashville is loving it.
The Predators are one of the top teams in the league and Rinne is a major reason for that. Just look at the extension:
P E K K A
R I N N E
‼️ ‼️ ‼️
STREAM: https://t.co/vVesnWjB2L pic.twitter.com/tG45H3OLAp
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 13, 2018
He just gets a piece of the puck to keep the game tied at two. This wasn’t the only robbery that Rinne was doing, though.
PEKKA RINNE GETS A PIECE OF THE SHOT AND MATT IRWIN CLEARS IT OUT WITH A TREMENDOUS PLAY! #NSHvsCOL pic.twitter.com/D4zl4vYize
— NHL Daily 365 (@NHLDaily365) April 13, 2018
Rinne made 15 saves through two periods, but the saves he had to make were not easy. That is what makes Rinne one of the better goalies in the league, his ability to make the tough save look easy. Now he had some help here from his teammate Matt Irwin, but hey that is what the playoffs are all about.
Performances like this are Hart Trophy like performances. Rinne has his name right in the middle of that conversation after carrying Nashville to winning a President’s Trophy in 2017-18 with 117 points.
Rinne helped lead the Predators to the Stanley Cup Finals last season where they took the Pittsburgh Penguins to six games. During that run, Rinne had a .936 a save-percentage and a goals-against-average of 1.96. Those numbers were by far the best numbers the 35-year-old goaltender has put up in the postseason.
He might be 35, but he does not play like that. If you’re looking for a team to root, for the remainder of the postseason, Rinne and the Preds aren’t a bad option to go with.
The Predators beat Colorado 5-2 in game one of the Western Conference quarter finals.
