Nashville Predators star goaltender Pekka Rinne was injured in last nights 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. This has to be extremely concerning and frustrating for Predators fans as Rinne is the likely leader in the clubhouse for the Vezina Trophy, posting a league leading 29 wins so far to go with a .931 save percentage and 1.96 goals against, both of which are second in the league.
The play was innocent enough with Canucks forward Chris Higgins driving to the net creating a chance and Predators defensemen Anton Volchenkov hustling back to make a play on the puck. Then this happened (video from Yahoo Sports):
Rinne is also coming back from missing over half of last season after a bacterial infection in his hip. Losing perhaps the best goaltender in all the NHL would be reason for concern on any team and it’s fair to wonder if the injury, if long term, will bring the Predators into the market for another goaltender. And since all we are told is that the injury is a “lower-body injury” and that Rinne is “day to day” like the rest of us, Predators fans are left holding their breath.
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Is this another injury to that bothersome hip? Watching the video a few times I wonder if it’s the right knee of Rinne. After the collision Pekka Rinne does not move. He holds his position and rides the momentum of the collision into the back boards, and that’s not hard enough to be an ankle. He was also down in the butterfly so it could have tweaked a groin issue. But as I said, “lower-body injury” and “day to day”.
I sincerely hope for Predators fans this is a minor injury and Pekka Rinne will be back in a week or two. Until his status is determine and disclosed we are left to wonder how Carter Hutton will fare as he carries the mail. And will David Poile feel compelled to bring in goaltending help if Rinne is lost for an extended period of time.
Well don’t overlook Hutton too quickly. It would be easy to dismiss him based on his 0-3-2 record this season, but he did reasonably well last season when Pekka Rinne was lost. Hutton posted a 20-11-4 record to go with his 2.62 GAA and .910 save percentage. Hutton is still someone of an unknown commodity having a total of 47 NHL games on his resume. But he has done enough to earn the opportunity to lead the Predators in goal while Rinne recovers.
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What may be more likely if Rinne is lost for an extended time would be a veteran backup, someone that would be on an expiring contract. The Buffalo Sabres have a pair of goalies that fit the bill in Jhonas Enroth and Michal Neuvirth. It would have to be a goaltender that would be an unrestricted free agent after this season and purely a stop gap until Pekka Rinne would be healthy. The Predators certainly aren’t moving on from Rinne and have likely seen enough from Hutton to not lose him either.
That said the Nashville Predators are a legitimate threat to win the Stanley Cup this year with a healthy Pekka Rinne. And as a fan of watching good hockey I hope that Rinne is healthy and can return to the ice sooner than later. But if Rinne is unable to do so, the Predators will likely be in the market for help in the crease so not to risk their Stanley Cup aspirations.