Nashville Predators starter Pekka Rinne has had a terrible start to the Stanley Cup Final.
After allowing four goals on 11 shots in Game 1 (the Penguins added an empty-netter), Rinne allowed four more through a little more than two periods in Game 2, this time on 25 shots against.
The Predators had been dominating the Penguins defensively in Game 2, but were tied 1-1 through two periods. At the start of the third, the Penguins scored a flurry of three goals in a little more than three minutes to open up a 4-1 lead.
Just three-and-a-half minutes into the third, Rinne was removed and backup Juuse Saros came into the game.
Rinne had been one of Nashville’s best players through the first three rounds, but as the Preds have outplayed their Stanley Cup final opponent, goaltending has been a major area of concern. The Preds’ starter has a .777 save percentage so far in the final, after posting .976, .932, and .925 totals in the first three rounds against Chicago, St. Louis and Anaheim, respectively.
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