2017 Stanley Cup Final: Predators can’t afford another jittery Pekka Rinne start in Game 4

The stat sheet from Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final reads that Predators goalie Pekka Rinne only gave up one goal and saved the other 25 Penguins shots. All in all, a good night!

That destination was not obvious early on. The Predators and Penguins saw two sides of Pekka Rinne in Game 3: A jittery, nervous wreck of a netminder in one period and a rock-solid wall for the final two frames. The Jekyll & Hyde act turned on one play in the second period, but the Penguins will make Nashville pay if it happens in Game 4.

Body language for goalies is easier to read than you think. A good sign your goalie is about to have A Night™ is if he handles a dump-in like a live grenade.

Like so.

And that was after Jake Guentzel scored on Rinne in the opening moments, a terrible goal against that surely left Rinne wondering if he had any mojo left to draw on.

Not all of these early chances were on Rinne, obviously. His teammates gave him a penalty kill to deal with and then left Patric Hornqvist all alone on the doorstep as Rinne had to scramble from post to post.

The same thing happened again soon after when Evgeni Malkin started a slick passing play that couldn’t be finished.

That quickness was a good sign that Rinne was starting to work through his jitters and see the puck well, even if the culprit on that missed chance was Kessel over-skating the pass.

Rinne’s momentum evaporated a minute later. Conor Sheary’s shot as the power play expired should’ve hit the back of the net. Rinne couldn’t see through a screen and left his high glove side wide open.

Connect there, and the Penguins likely make this a competitive game, if not a win.

The jitters continued from there. Rinne, usually a strong puck handler, handled this odd bounce with an even odder reaction.

It was a poor decision to tap the puck that lightly; Rinne wasn’t aware of Conor Sheary lurking on his blind side and left a good chunk of his net wide open as he scrambled back into his crease. No harm, no foul, but the play was sloppy, careless, and not indicative of a goalie assured of his play.

Pittsburgh put only six shots on goal in the first period, but Rinne’s timid posture in net made it feel 10 times worse.

So what changed?

Two goals and a save, really.

Intermission adjustments led to Nashville owning the opening minutes of the second period.

But when the Predators took the lead after two quick goals, you can see that the Penguins upped the ante and poured on the pressure.

That led to the key moment of the game.

I’m not sure what restored Rinne’s confidence. It might’ve been the two goals. It might’ve been the intermission of rest. But you don’t make this save unless you’re feeling it again.

The mark of a good goaltender is letting your vision and reaction times push through whatever nerves or doubts you feel throughout a game. The mark of an elite goaltender is doing that on the Stanley Cup Final stage, with your team desperately seeking a win.

The Rinne of the first 10 minutes of Game 3 was easy prey for the Penguins, and they couldn’t take full advantage. No doubt if they had connected just once, the Predators would’ve pulled Rinne and put Juuse Saros in net. The rookie is good, but less of a sure thing than Rinne.

So it’s no wonder the Penguins spent so much time on Sunday practicing their power play. That early man advantage should’ve turned the game fully in their favor. They had Rinne and the Predators on their heels and generated more than a few great scoring chances. Few shots came of them. The door stayed open and the Predators barged through, rejuvenating Rinne’s game in the process.

There’s little doubt the Predators need Rinne to play a full three periods of excellent hockey in Game 4. This Pittsburgh team doesn’t often make the same mistakes twice. Sullivan will have his special teams units more prepared to capitalize on chances. Rinne and Nashville’s Cup hopes can’t afford another extended run of net-minding jitters.