Peter Laviolette on Thursday had his third opportunity to commit to Pekka Rinne as his starting goalie for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
It went similarly to the first two.
The Predators coach declined to say whether Rinne, who saw his superlative playoff performance crater in Pittsburgh, would play over backup Juuse Saros. He did the same on Wednesday night after pulling Rinne in the third period of the Penguins’ 4-1 win, opting instead for generalities over how good Rinne had been up to this series.
In the final, Rinne has allowed eight goals on 36 shots, continuing his streak of miserable play against the Penguins and generally serving as the x-factor, in a negative way, for his team.