On Thursday, February 22, 2018, the Nashville Predators beat the San Jose Sharks 7-1. Between the pipes for the Preds was Pekka Rinne who won his 300th career game, becoming the 34th goaltender ever to notch 300 wins in the National Hockey League. Furthermore, he joins Miikka Kiprusoff and Kari Lehtonen as the only Finnish-born goalies ever to accomplish the feat.
Let’s talk a stroll through the 552 games in Rinne’s career, shall we?
1st game: December 15, 2005 vs. Chicago at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee
1st start: December 15, 2005 vs. Chicago
1st shot faced: Brent Seabrook; 1:33 into the contest on December 15, 2005
1st goal allowed: Mark Bell; 2:29 into the contest on December 15, 2005
1st win: December 15, 2005; 5-3 win over Chicago
1st relief appearance: April 5, 2006; at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois; relieved Chris Mason with 4:10 remaining
1st loss: April 5, 2006 at Chicago
1st assist: November 28. 2008; Ryan Suter’s overtime winner over Atlanta
1st shutout: December 1, 2008; 2-0 win over Buffalo
1st 40-save outing: December 23, 2008; 40 saves on 42 shots in 3-0 loss to Florida
22nd shutout (to break Tomas Vokoun’s franchise record): October 22, 2011; 2-0 win over Calgary
162nd win (to break Tomas Vokoun’s franchise record): April 10, 2014; 2-0 win over Phoenix
1st All-Star Game (selected): January 25, 2015 in Columbus, Ohio (missed due to injury)
1st All-Star Game (participated): January 31, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee
300th win: February 22, 2018; 7-1 win over San Jose
Record in Nashville, TN: 189-72-39
Opponent beaten most: Colorado Avalanche (22-7-2 in 34 games)
Opponent shutout the most: Arizona Coyotes (6x)
And, finally…
With his 300th win, Pekka Rinne has accounted for 41.5% of the #Preds 723 franchise wins
— Michael Gallagher (@mpatrickg5) February 23, 2018
Chase McCabe caught up with the Preds netminder after his milestone win.
