Rinne Celebrates Birthday with New Contract, Shutout as Preds Beat Bruins

Happy birthday, Peks.
Pekka Rinne stopped all 26 shots he faced, and the Nashville Predators shut out the Boston Bruins by a 1-0 final on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena. The victory is the 11th of the season for the Preds, good enough to maintain their lead atop the NHL standings.
From the signing of a new two-year deal that morning, complete with a song and "cake action" from his teammates, until the final horn sounded shortly before 10 p.m., it was a classic Rinne performance that has played out 52 times previously in his career.
And while the blanking of an Eastern Conference powerhouse is undoubtedly a team effort, the night belonged to No. 35.

"It was a pretty cool day," Rinne said. "I came in this morning and signed a two-year extension, it's my birthday and we got a huge win. I'm very happy, and so proud that I can stay with this organization. They gave me a chance a long time ago, and I'm very fortunate to still be able to chase my dreams."
"It's a pretty good day when it's your birthday, you sign a contract and get secured in the place you want to be," Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said of Rinne. "He committed to play the sport he loves and then gets a shutout… Everyone in the room was happy for him and happy that he is back."

Roman Josi scored the lone goal on the evening when he tallied in the latter portion of the opening period on a slick drive to the net. The goal was Josi's 300th career point and his second marker in as many games.
From there, elite goaltending was on display at both ends of the ice with Rinne and Jaroslav Halak turning aside every other chance that came their way. But in the end, Josi's strike held up to give Rinne the win on his 36th birthday, just about as good as it gets.
"It was a big day for him," defenseman Ryan Ellis said of Rinne. "That was one of our better games this year. We didn't give too much up, and when we did, he made the big saves."
"He was great once again - same as last game," Josi said of Rinne. "Unbelievable. It's been a couple good days for him."

The Birthday Boy:
Seven years ago to the day, Pekka Rinne signed a seven-year deal on his 29th birthday before proceeding to shut out the Arizona Coyotes.
Seven years later, he pitched an encore.
Just hours after inking a two-year, $10 million deal to remain with the only NHL club he's ever played for through the 2020-21 season, Rinne turned aside all 26 Boston chances to collect his 316th victory and 53rd career shutout.
Sometimes, the stories just write themselves.
"We heard about it this morning and guys were so excited and just smiling," Josi said of the contract. "Peks is such a huge part of this locker room, and he's our leader. He's been here for so long. He's such a great guy, and he's the best goaltender in the League. To keep a guy like him around, it's awesome for us."
"Every day, he is and continues to be the backbone of this organization and team," Laviolette said of Rinne. "He has probably had the biggest impact on this organization… It's a good day for us."
For Rinne, it was simply about doing exactly what many of his teammates have already done - signing a deal that enables Predators General Manager David Poile and his staff the best opportunity to keep this group together and compete for the ultimate prize.
"Hopefully, this helps in a way that makes this team stay together moving forward," Rinne said. "We have an opportunity to keep this same team. I love this group, and I really think we have a chance this year and years to come."
The first goaltender in NHL history to record multiple regular-season shutouts while celebrating a birthday, Rinne had expressed many times in recent weeks and months his desire to remain with the Predators through the end of his career. On Saturday morning, he got a whole lot closer to making that desire reality with the stroke of a pen.
"We both had the same goal," Rinne said. "[We all] knew that I wanted to stay here. This is my home. I'm very happy we were able to make this deal."

Notes:
Pekka Rinne is now 3-1-1 in his career on his birthday with two shutouts.
At 316 career wins, he sits 28th in NHL history and is three away from tying Miikka Kiprusoff (319) for the most by a Finnish-born goaltender in NHL history.
With his 53rd career shutout, Rinne is now just one shutout shy of tying Bernie Parent and Ed Giacomin for 21stt all-time in NHL history.
With 10 shots on goal, Roman Josi tied the franchise record for shots by a defenseman in a single game.
The Predators will next face game action on Wednesday night in Colorado to kick off a five-game road trip that will also take them to Texas, California and Arizona over the next two weeks. Nashville will then return home to host the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 17.