Nashville Predators' Pekka Rinne in Vezina Trophy Conversation
Pekka Rinne Has Been One of the NHL’s Top Goalies in Recent Years, but After Last Season, Some Questioned If His Best Days Were Behind Him. He’s Doing a Good Job at Silencing Those Critics After a Rough Start in 2016-17.
At the beginning of the season, Pekka Rinne’s statistics weren’t overly impressive. Back in October, he had a fair share of solid outings, but then there were nights like the one in Anaheim, where he let in six goals and his statistics were horrific.
After October, it seemed like his best days were behind him. Many respected journalists expressed it and no one could blame them – a .906 save percentage doesn’t lie. Sadly, we had already heard a similar sentiment spoken just a few months earlier from TSN’s Travis Yost following the Preds second round elimination in the 2016 playoffs.
But did those numbers actually lie?
Well, if you were watching those games in October, Rinne wasn’t bad at all. Obviously, there were some games where he could have performed better, but every single goalie knows that there are nights when things just aren’t going to go your way. Heck, every single athlete knows that in the World of Sports.
Price, Rask… and Rinne
The problem is that folks are simply looking at the numbers, not actually concentrating on his performance – not in October, nor in the Playoffs. His stats weren’t good, but last year he was the only reason the Preds managed to escape the first round. Without Rinne, the Predators would have never been able to beat the Anaheim Ducks.
Apr 25, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne (35) celebrates after a win against the Anaheim Ducks in game six of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Pekka Rinne also helped carry his team to push San Jose to the brink of game seven before ultimately falling short. They were heavily outplayed, but thanks to 34-year-old veteran netminder, they were able to hang on.
So, it was no wonder that no one in Nashville was panicking after the first month of this season. The head coach of the Predators, Peter Laviolette, kept saying how amazing Rinne was and P.K. Subban, who came in during the summer in a blockbuster trade where Nashville sent Shea Weber to Montreal, said that Rinne was at the same level as Carey Price – that’s one heck of an endorsement.
But they clearly knew what they were talking about because now everyone is talking how good Pekka Rinne is once again. All of sudden, he’s not a “has been” anymore – he was even nominated as the best player in November; no wonder, his stats were staggering .949 and 1.49 GAA, plus he won 9 out of 12 games.
After the first quarter of the season, all the buzz seems to surround Carey Price and Tuukka Rask in terms of Vezina Trophy candidates early on. But I suggest, that from this day on, you start counting Pekka Rinne to that same conversation, because he is climbing up the Vezina-tree and he shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
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