Pekka Rinne knows how to shut down the Blues. The Nashville goaltender faced 42 shots tonight; coupled with the 40 shots on goal the last time the Blues were in Nashville that makes 2 goals on 82 shots. That’s amazing. You have to give Rinne his dues; he is one of the league’s elite goaltenders and deserves far more praise than he gets from the pundits in the know.
The Blues’ elite goaltender did well, not allowing any goals over the last two periods (the Preds third goal, scored by Sergei Kostitsyn, was an empty netter), while Rinne showed that he was human and actually allowed this unassisted shot by Chris Porter past him:
Aside from that, Rinne did nothing else to confirm that he is more man than machine. Quite frankly, if given a choice for a first round match-up between the Predators and the Red Wings, I’d choose Detroit. At least they can be scored upon. Nashville? That’s debatable.
The Blues head up to Ottawa for their next road game on Tuesday to square off a Senators team that’s been making a surprising run of things. Craig Anderson is no Pekka Rinne. God willing, the Blues’ll be able to get more than one puck past him.