Predators G Pekka Rinne took over the top spot on the franchise list for games played by a goaltender with 384, surpassing Tomas Vokoun…. He skated a team-high 24:03 and finished with a plus-1 rating. The Predators feasted on Eastern Conference teams last season, posting a 20-10-2 record. Pekka Rinne has given up one goal on 57 shots faced.
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“We are so fortunate to have so many good defensemen”, Rinne said.
“He will be on the ice, and I expect him fully to be playing against the Chicago Blackhawks”, Trotz said. Add in the fact this is Nashville’s first road game, I like the value of the plus money and the home team here.
Hutton went 6-7-4 last season with one shutout, a 0.902 save percentage and 2.61 goals against average.
There’s zero part of me that, as the lines would have you believe, thinks Bourque on Nashville’s third line over Arvidsson and slapping Watson on the fourth is anything more than Peter Laviolette testing the waters to try and make a splash on the bottom six portion of his lineup. “He’s tough to beat”.
Jordin Tootoo’s shot at 3:09 hit the crossbar.
New Jersey had the first five shots of the period but could not dent Rinne before the Predators reverted to their usual stifling defensive style and allowed the Devils only one more before the second intermission.
“We’re getting in on guys and we’re getting to pucks, but that being said, our shots aren’t almost as high as they were throughout the course of the season previous year”, Preds forward Craig Smith said. Besides the fact that Watson should find himself factoring into Nashville’s already overworked penalty kill unit, I’ve got a hunch he finds himself on the scoreboard as well. “We have to be better to get a win”.
Things opened up at the end when Nashville’s Cody Hodgson was whistled for holding with 2:58 remaining.
Roman Josi ended up in the net with Kinkaid at 12:07 of the period.
Kinkaid was still on the bench when Nystrom closed out the scoring with 51.5 seconds left.
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NOTES: The Predators play the Islanders on Thursday and the Senators on Saturday to conclude their first trip… John Moore is questionable with an arm injury. The Devils called up G Yann Danis in an emergency status to serve as Kinkaid’s backup…. New Jersey cleared roster space by assigning F Reid Boucher to Albany of the AHL.
