Pekka Rinne is really that good. The Nashville goaltender who established himself as one of the elite NHL goaltenders by stopping 41 of 43 Red Wing shots last game followed that performance with an even better one. Rinne was nothing short of mind-boggling on Tuesday night, making 40 saves on 41 shots, eventually lifting his team to a 3-1 win.
The loss puts Detroit in a 3-1 series hole, which seems insurmountable with the blistering-hot play of Rinne.
Other than Rinne, the Predators certainly looked like the lesser team, getting badly outshot (17-41) as well as taking several untimely penalties in the third period.
The Red Wings, however, did everything but score. Penalties had plagued them through three games, and they took just three penalties all game, including a very questionable tripping call that went against Pavel Datsyuk. With the penalties eliminated, Detroit was able to take full control of this game from start to finish.
They just didn’t win.
Even when Nashville struc...
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April 18, 2012
