Nashville Predators Need Pekka Rinne to Regain Past Form

 

The Nashville Predators are having a rough time of it through the past few games. Like all NHL teams, when something is going wrong with the Predators you should always begin by looking at the goalie. The Preds have a good one in Pekka Rinne but Rinne hasn’t been up to his own standard as of late and it is hurting the Predators chances.

Stu Grimson of the Predators radio announcing team has said that the Predators aren’t a team that plays well from behind. In other words, they play best when they are able to stay in their game plan and not get into an up and down race with their opponents. They wind up out of shape and out of their game. How they get behind has a lot to do with Rinne. It’s not like he is facing sixty shots per game but too many are getting through.

In light of the situation they find themselves in, there is no better time for Rinne to get back to his usual save percentage number which has been around .925 to .930 for his career. That doesn’t seem like it’s too far from his current number just below .900, but a few more timely saves right now would be exactly what the team needs. A great save can put a charge into the defensive efforts and also give the scoring line the confidence they need to take off to crash the net.

There is no magic answer for the Predators. They all need to play better and get their jobs done. That starts with Pekka Rinne. Everything else could flow from one or two great games. He definitely has the ability. Now he just needs to put his team on his back and put a shutout on the board. I’d bet a short winning streak would follow.

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