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The Nashville Predators were a shell of their usual dominant selves when Pekka Rinne went down with an injury last season. The towering goalie is the team’s backbone and they looked overwhelmed without the Finn back there to offset any mistakes made by the guys in front of him. This year, Rinne is back with a vengeance as he’s backstopped the Preds to one of their best starts in franchise history.
While I’d be remiss not to mention the team’s new-look offense spearheaded by star rookie Filip Forsberg and the usual stellar play of Shea Weber, it’s Rinne’s dominance that allows everything else to happen. Forwards can confidently showcase their innate creativity and the defensemen can take chances offensively knowing they have a stonewall back there to bail them out if they make mistakes.
Rinne is leading the NHL in wins and is amongst the league leaders in both save percentage and goals against average, putting him in the driver’s seat for potential Vezina trophy, which would be the first of his illustrious career. While the individual numbers are great, team success always comes first and no one has been a bigger part of Nashville’s hot start than their franchise goalie.
It just seems like a different atmosphere around the Predators and while the coaching changing and new-found offensive mindset play huge roles, Rinne’s return to form/health cannot be overlooked. If Nashville is looking to keep up their amazing run, they’ll need Rinne to keep up his MVP-caliber form. Provided he stays healthy, I see no reason to think Rinne will provide anything but his usual high-end play between the pipes.
