Nashville Predators vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Rewind

Rinne Shines in Predators loss

Pittsburgh outlasted the Predators in a surprisingly physical contest 3 - 1 on Tuesday night.  Hitting was at a premium as both teams played with great intensity.  Colin Wilson came out on the wrong end of a scrum in the second period with some bruising forming immediately around his eye.  He continued to play after receiving some minor attention.  Most people would have expected this result, but what will surprise people is how difficult the win was for the Penguins.  The Predators kept on the forecheck and the lack of space allowed to Crosby, Malkin, and company was an obvious source of frustration for Pittsburgh.  The only dark spot on defense for Nashville was Mike Del Zotto who is still trying to find his footing with his new team.  The Penguins did force the Predators into some mistakes which ultimately made up the difference on the score sheet.

The biggest thing to take away is that Pekka Rinne looked amazing.  The save above came early in the first period on a play that usually leads to an easy goal.  Kunitz and Crosby are one of the most lethal pairings in the NHL and Rinne robbed Kunitz on what seemed like a tap in.  When interviewed from the bench Carter Hutton confirmed that the team collectively fed off the energy from that save.  He went on to explain how seeing Rinne make such a tremendous save almost immediately in his first game back from his bacterial infection gave the team confidence and inspiration as they prepare for this push for the playoffs.

I said that this game could serve as an audition for David Legwand should Poile decide to move him, if that was the case then Legwand will undoubtedly remain a Predators.  There were flashes of greatness especially in the faceoff circle where he routinely bested Crosby and on a particularly impressive shielding defensive play as Crosby drove to the net.  However, the rest of his game was peppered with sloppy passing, costly turnovers, and a general lack of positioning.  I'm hesitant to be critical of such a tremendous player, but I don't see this performance warranting a high enough return for Poile and Legwand to sign off on it.