Smashville Scope: February 18-22

The Smashville Scope presented by JOCKEY prepares fans for the week ahead with news, videos and clips from the past week, plus, game and event info for the next seven days. Use promo code "GOAL" to save 25% on your next JOCKEY purchase.
---
Lost in the midst of a season-high 45 shots on goal and a satisfying 4-2 victory for the Predators in Columbus on Saturday night was another addition to the record books for Pekka Rinne.
The Nashville netminder made 21 saves in the outing for his 22nd career regular-season win against Columbus, a mark that surpassed Evgeni Nabokov (21) for the most versus the Blue Jackets in NHL history.

Rinne used to help the Preds dominate the Blue Jackets early in his career when they were full-time foes in the Central Division; in 34 career games started against Columbus, Rinne owns a 22-8-3 record with a 2.32 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage, with two of those efforts being shutouts.
The 38-year-old Finn has another record in his sights, too.
Rinne's fourth win of the season on Saturday gave him 363 victories for his career, the 20th-most in NHL history. He is now just six wins away from tying Tom Barrasso (369) for 19th place all-time, and three more back of Andy Moog for 18th on the list.
Dating back to his appearance in relief on Feb. 4 (6 GP), Rinne is 3-3-0 with a .929 save percentage and 2.21 goals-against average. Among NHL goaltenders who have also played at least six games in that time span, Rinne is third in save percentage and fourth in goals-against average.
Of course, the numbers are great, but the real draw from Rinne has always been the human side of things. A newcomer to fatherhood, Rinne offered one of his more poignant thoughts of his career after a recent win against Detroit.
"I put a lot of expectations, a lot of pressure on myself, and if you're not playing well, I can be sometimes too hard on myself," Rinne said back on Feb. 11. "I really try to enjoy this and really try to enjoy every single game I play and everything about this locker room, coming into work every day and really appreciating everything. Obviously, knowing the fact that I don't know how many more years I've got, so I really just appreciate everything I have right now."
Here's to Rinne collecting a few more wins in the weeks to come - and enjoying each and every milestone he has left in his illustrious career.

Outdoor Hockey - in Tennessee:

While the NHL was showcasing the game among the breathtaking sunsets and snow-capped mountains at Lake Tahoe this past weekend, residents in Middle Tennessee and beyond were still on a high from their own outdoor experiences here at home.
Temperatures in Nashville were below freezing for an entire week, the longest cold spell in the city in more than 100 years, and with some snow and ice mixed in, hockey fans took advantage.
Take a look below as locals took to the ponds, streets and even driveways to lace up their skates and play their favorite sport the way it was meant to be.

Junior Predators 18U Team Makes History:

Congratulations are in order for another group in Gold.
The 18U AAA Nashville Junior Predators became the first team in the history of the program to capture a Tier 1 Elite Hockey championship defeating Belle Tire out of Detroit on Feb. 15.
Hayden Nichol, son of Predators Director of Player Development and Milwaukee Admirals General Manager Scott Nichol, is among those on the roster who brought the hardware back to Smashville.

Sign Up for Preds Blood Drive with the American Red Cross:

Preds fans already helped to save more than 10,000 lives in 2020, and you can raise that number in 2021.
The Nashville Predators are teaming up with the American Red Cross again to host blood drives all over the region from Feb. 22 to 26. All presenting donors will receive a Preds and Red Cross branded foam puck and be entered to win a Preds and Red Cross branded puck signed by a current Preds player.
To make an appointment visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter sponsor code Preds19, and click here to learn more about the partnership.

Chicago Wolves Update:

With the Milwaukee Admirals electing to sit out the 2020-21 season in the AHL, the Predators are utilizing an agreement with the Carolina Hurricanes and the Chicago Wolves to serve as Nashville's AHL affiliate this season.
Predators prospects Cole Smith, Tanner Jeannot, Rem Pitlick, Tommy Novak, Tyler Lewington, Jeremy Davies, Lukas Craggs, Patrick Harper, Frederic Allard and Philip Tomasino are currently on the Chicago roster, and many are making impacts.
The Wolves are off to their best start in franchise history - a 7-0-0-0 record - thanks to a pair of wins against the Iowa Wild by counts of 10-2 and 4-1.
Rem Pitlick scored twice in the blowout on Saturday, and Tommy Novak recorded a goal and three helpers. Pitlick added another on Sunday, and Tanner Jeannot also found the back of the net for Chicago in the 4-1 win.
Novak co-leads the team in scoring with nine points (2g-7a) in six games, Jeannot (3g-5a) has eight points and Pitlick (6g-1a) has seven. Tomasino (3g-3a) has six points in six games, and Allard has four assists in three games since returning from his European loan.
The Wolves will try to remain undefeated this Friday and Sunday with a pair against Grand Rapids.

Goal of the Week:

Assist of the Week:

Save of the Week:

Quote of the Week:

Calle Jarnkrok following Saturday's 4-2 win in Columbus:
"This is probably our best game of the season. We had a little dip there in the second, but other than that, we played great. I feel like we played hockey again, so it was nice… We had a good practice [Friday], worked on some stuff, and had an even better game today. We can still get better, and we've got to keep working and got to keep winning games."

Shots of the Week:

Predators at Blue Jackets Feb. 18 Photo Gallery
Predators at Blue Jackets Feb. 20 Photo Gallery

The Week Ahead:

Tuesday at Detroit Red Wings, 6:30 p.m. CT
TV:Fox Sports Tennessee Radio: 102.5 The Game
Thursday at Detroit Red Wings, 6:30 p.m. CT
TV: Fox Sports Tennessee Radio: 102.5 The Game
Saturday vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, 2 p.m. CT
TV: Fox Sports Tennessee Radio: 102.5 The Game
Sunday vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, 2 p.m. CT
TV: Fox Sports Tennessee Radio: 102.5 The Game

Predators Official Podcast:

A strange week amid a strange season sees the Predators have two games postponed because of a winter storm (5:37). Nashville later falls 3-0 in their contest in Columbus. Brooks Bratten and Thomas Willis discuss the state of the team past the quarter mark of the season (9:45). Predators forward Michael McCarron joins the show to talk about life on the taxi squad (21:30). Plus, the Preds team up with Bridgestone and the NHL to make hockey accessible for all youth (41:25).

Week in Review:

Jarnkrok Tallies Twice as Preds Beat Blue Jackets
Preds, Bridgestone, NHL Combine to Form Youth Hockey Diversity Program
Preds Start Trip to Columbus with Loss to Blue Jackets
Bridgestone Partners with NHL Foundation to Promote Diversity
TSU Student Gaining Invaluable Experience as Ford Ice Center Intern