Goalies at forefront of Game 7
Nahsville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne has years of postseason experience, including a couple Game 7s and a Stanley Cup Final.
Connor Hellebuyck has the Winnipeg Jets on the verge of their first Western Conference finals in his first playoff appearance, and the best comparison he can make to the looming Game 7 in Nashville is playing for Hockey East championships back in college.
“I have yet to be scored on in one, so I like those odds,” Hellebuyck said. “This has nothing to do with that. This is whole new level and you’ve just got to get into the game as much as you can.”
Nobody has reflected the roller-coaster ride of this thrilling Western Conference semifinal between the NHL’s top two teams in the regular season than their Vezina Trophy finalists. Rinne has been pulled from not one but two games both on his own ice before staving off elimination in Game 6 with his second shutout this postseason.
“When you think about Game 7, as a team, as an individual, you’re just going to give it all and do your best and do it as a team and trust your teammates,” Rinne said Wednesday. “I think that’s the best formula and focus on your own team.”
Hellebuyck’s stats include a 2-1 record in Nashville in this series, which ends tonight in the only Game 7 of the second round this postseason. Hellebuyck gave up three goals in a 4-0 home loss Monday night, turning this into a winner-take-all game for the right to play Vegas in the conference finals.
“We know it’s all on the line, and nothing in the past is going to bother us,” Hellebuyck said. “We can’t let it. This is going to be the most fun game we’re going to play, and I think a lot of us are going to enjoy ourselves.”
Rinne appreciates the extra rest during this break. A Justin Timberlake concert Wednesday night pushed Game 7 to tonight, giving the 35-year-old Rinne two days of rest. During the regular season, the Predators goalie went 11-3 with a 1.99 goals-against average and .936 save percentage during the season when he got two days to rest between games. MARCHAND WILL TAKE ‘HARD LOOK IN THE MIRROR’ >> Boston forward Brad Marchand has used the past few days since his team was eliminated in the second round in five games by Tampa Bay to reflect on his role in the loss.
Marchand drew national attention and a reprimand from the NHL after he was caught licking the face of Lightning forward Ryan Callahan during a confrontation in the Lightning’s 4-3 overtime Game 4 win that pushed the Bruins to the brink of elimination.
For Marchand, who scored 34 goals during the regular season and represented the Bruins at the All-Star Game, the licking incident added to his list of infractions. He has been suspended by the NHL six times and fined three.
Marchand is thinking about cleaning up his act.
“After having a couple days kind of looking back on the year and seeing what’s happened the last few days I guess, with all the media and everything, I think the biggest thing for me now is to really take a pretty hard look in the mirror and realize the actions, some of the things that I’m doing, have much bigger consequences,” Marchand said.