At 25-24-10, the Predators are sitting right on the cusp of playoff ice, just four points behind the Dallas Stars and locked in a five-team death struggle for the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference with 23 games to play once the NHL schedule resumes following the break for the Sochi Olympic games.
Playing in just nine games this season due to a serious bacterial infection in his surgically repaired hip, Rinne has a 4-4-1 record with a .917 save percentage coupled with a 2.31 goals against average - both very close to his career averages in six full seasons with the Predators - and if reports are to be believed, he will be working out during the Olympic break to facilitate his return.
It has been a long roller coaster ride with Rinne, originally expected to be back before the end of December, he instead was still on crutches when the ball dropped to usher in 2014, and wasn't even cleared for weight bearing exercises until January 10th - and there has been constant speculation that Predators' management are delusional to keep thinking that Rinne will be back this season...
...but the team has a plan ready to implement just as soon as Rinne is cleared for such. It's a tangible plan, they say, rife with intense, incremental positional training designed to ease him back into the fold - the problem is, that date is nowhere in sight.
"I really believe Pekka's coming back. I really do think he's on his way," General Manager David Poile said in response to questions from reporters after acquiring goalie Devan Dubnyk from Edmonton in January, then qualified both his statement and decision to bring in another netminder.
"I don't know the date for that. But having said that, if there was any setback in any way, shape or form, I think we've clearly got ourselves an insurance policy for someone that can be here next year.".
Coach Barry Trotz is staying optimistic as well, but also exercising the caveat, "There is no target date." - but once Rinne is able to practice, Trotz in under no illusions: he will need time to condition both his body and his mind.
“You can’t just say he’s in shape and throw him in net and assume he’s fine,” Trotz offered. “It doesn’t work that way. He’ll have to go through his foundation so the goalie part of it can come out.”
So what can we take out of all of this? Well, it's pretty obvious that either no one knows anything at all, or they are feigning ignorance to mess with the beat writers for all of the endless questions regarding their star netminder.
Either way, to suggest that Nashville's playoffs chances ride on the return of Rinne is not giving the rest of the Predators as much credit as they deserve, being as they've climbed back into the race by playing their best hockey of the season in the past month, gaining 15 points in 12 games by going 6-3-3, though they are riding a three-game winless streak coming out of the break.
“I think it’s going to be a race,” Trotz said. “I think it’s going to be an absolute battle. This team doesn’t quit.”, a sentiment shared by veteran forward Mike Fisher.
“We can’t get frustrated,” Fisher shared on Monday, “We’re right there. We’ve fought our way back into contention. If we play like we have the last couple of weeks, I think we’re going to be in.”
They can do it, despite one of the NHL's toughest schedules down the stretch - and they can do it with or without Pekka Rinne - after all, they've gotten themselves in mix without him.
http://www.sportsinjuryalert.com/2014/02/can-predators-make-playoff-run-without.html#.Uv1EObQcq58
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