1. Pekka nearly takes Nashville all the way, 2017 Playoffs
First off, before you come after me about Pekka Rinne being on this list because of what transpired against Pittsburgh, just think about the fact that the Nashville Predators wouldn’t have made it that far without him.
In astounding fashion, Rinne became one of those star goaltenders that “got hot at the right time” for the posteason. We hear it thrown out there all of the time. You just need to get into the playoff field and anything can happen, especially with a hot goaltender.
Rinne set the tone for the 2017 playoff run by shutting out Chicago in Games 1 and 2, and eventually totalling 123 saves on 126 shots faced for a .976 save percentages. Yeah, you read that right.
Everyone was worried that Rinne would become streaky and fall flat in the following series against St. Louis, but he held it together for another incredible series of 151 saves on 162 shots faced for a .932 save percentage.
And then even though the team in front of him scored some critical goals to push past the Ducks, Rinne was also solid in that series with a .925 save percentage.
Rinne’s struggles at Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup Final doesn’t just erase the other three amazing series performances he had. Much less in Game 6 Rinne was shutting out the offenisvely loaded Penguins until the final minute when Patric Hornqvist scored on a fluky goal.
It’s going to be hard to ever top Rinne on this list, but if the Nashville Predators do indeed make it into the playoff field for 2022, then I’ll throw Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg has prime candidates that will need to live up to their superstar status.
Honorable mention players that have had strong postseason showings for the Predators are James Neal in 2015 through 2017, Colin Wilson in 2015 and Paul Kariya in 2006.