No lack of confidence for Preds
Nashville players expect Rinne will rise to the occasion for Game 6 on home ice
NASHVILLE — One more loss away from the season being over, the ‘C’ word kept coming up again and again heading into a must-win Game 6. And it didn’t stand for concern. No, confidence is reportedly what the Nashville Predators are feeling these days. The team, which lost 6-0 in Game 5 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, is down 3-2 in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final. But you wouldn’t know it talking to the players.
They’re confident that they’ll win at home on Sunday — just like they did in Games 3 and 4 — and force a Game 7 in Pittsburgh. They are confident that they’ll stop Sidney Crosby from being Sidney Crosby. But mostly, they’re confident that their No. 1 goalie will once again rebound and have the game of his career.
Of the three, it’s the latter that seems the most plausible.
Usually, you would be worried about a goalie who has already been pulled twice in the series, having allowed 11 total goals in the three losses. You might even entertain the notion of starting the other guy.
Instead, Pekka Rinne will be in the net against Pittsburgh. But it likely won’t be the same Rinne that the Penguins chased from the net in Game 5.
The Finnish goalie has been Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Five-hole in this series. He’s been unbeatable at home, allowing just two goals in two games in Nashville. But on the road, where he has a .756 save percentage in Pittsburgh, it’s as though the hockey gods have conspired against him.
“You have those thoughts ... why now? Why pucks are getting deflected in off our guys or something like that,” Rinne said of Game 5 in Pittsburgh, where he was pulled after allowing three goals on nine shots. “You try to work so hard that luck is also on your side, and when bounces aren’t going your way, you sometimes have second thoughts in your head. But that’s life.”
Here is what we know: if the Predators are going to force a seventh game — and possibly win the series — it will be because of Rinne. As poorly as he’s played in three of the five games, he has been the team’s top Conn Smythe Trophy candidate.
As several Nashville players said, he still might be the best goalie in the playoffs.
“I’ve said it all playoffs, Peks is great, he’s our best player,” said forward James Neal. “He’ll continue to be that. He’ll have a great game.”
It was Rinne who practically swept the Chicago Blackhawks on his own in the first round, posting two shutouts and a .976 save percentage. He allowed 11 goals in six games against the St. Louis Blues and 14 goals in six games against the Anaheim Ducks. That he’s coming off another rough outing in Pittsburgh hasn’t changed anyone’s perception of him.
“He’s a competitor,” said defenceman Roman Josi, who has consistently been Nashville’s best player in the post-season.
“Obviously, it’s never fun for a goalie to get pulled. But it wasn’t his fault at all. We just didn’t play well in front of him. We have to do a better job. We have no doubt in him. We have all the confidence in him.”
It’s not false confidence. The Predators are 9-1 at home in the playoffs, having outscored their opponents 34-15.
The one loss came in overtime in the Western Conference final.
Against Pittsburgh, Nashville won 5-1 in Game 3 and 4-1 in Game 4.
So there’s precedence for how the Predators are feeling.
“I know our guys don’t sit in there and wonder how we’re going to do this,” said head coach Peter Laviolette. “I think we’re an extremely confident group, and we’ve had a lot of success, especially down the stretch in the regular season and through the playoffs. We’ve had success. We’ve found a certain way to play the game with a certain identity, and when we do that, usually the wins follow.”
Much of that identity comes from the team’s back end. In particular, it comes from Rinne. He’s been the longest-serving player on this team. He was there in the early days of those awful mustard-yellow jerseys, when the team couldn’t hang onto any of its star talent or make it out of the second round of the playoffs.
He’s been the one constant, the one player you can always depend on.
As for what Rinne trusts: that he’ll be much better than the last time you saw him.
“Right now, I don’t trust the momentum thing,” said Rinne.
“Obviously, they played a really strong game and beat us pretty bad (in Game 5). But right now, there are no favourites. We get to play at home and it’s just a one-game mentality. Just taking care of this one game. After that, we have all the chances.”
“Obviously, it’s never fun for a goalie to get pulled. But it wasn’t his fault at all. We just didn’t play well in front of him.”
— ROMAN JOSI NASHVILLE DEFENCEMAN