Pekka Rinne #35 of the Nashville Predators acknowledges the cheering fans following a 1-0 shutout against the Boston Bruins at Bridgestone Arena on November 3, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. [Photo by John Russell/NHL.com]

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.

Leonor Moreno of Westwood basketball

The Westwood basketball teams welcomed Liberty to the Joel Vinson Gym on Thursday night. In a pair of games you heard here on Thunder Radio, the Westwood cagers captured a conference sweep.  The Lady Rockets pulled away in the 2^nd half to claim a 47 to 19 win and the Rockets used a strong 4^th quarter to capture a 24 to 18 win.

In the girls’ game, Westwood built an 11 to 4 lead in the first quarter thanks to a 5 point scoring explosion in the final 30 seconds of the period.  Liberty tied the game at 14 headed to the half and hit a 3 pointer to start the 2^nd half to take their only lead of the game.  The Lady Rocket pressure defense gave the Lady Patriots fits in the 2^nd half as they outscored Liberty 31 to 2 in the final 11 and a half minutes of the game to get the win.  Bryleigh Gray and Leonor Moreno led Westwood in scoring with 10 points apiece.  Anna Johnson finished with 9 points and Allie Sullivan had 8 points off the bench.  Moreno captured the Crazy Daisies player of the game award.

The Rockets and Patriots squared off in a hard fought, physical contest.  Neither team could get more than a 2 point lead in the back and forth affair until the 4^th quarter.  In the final frame, Jayden Carter exploded for 8 points as the Rockets pulled away for their first win of the year.  Carter finished with a team high 15 points to be named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  Brayden Dixon added 3 points in the conference win.

Westwood is back at home on Monday when they play host to Forrest.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the streaming broadcast of that game as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  Tipoff is set for 6 PM and you can hear Lucky Knott on the call on the Thunder Radio app or streaming at WMSRradio.com.

Download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

Olivia Vinson(in white) of CCMS basketball

The Coffee County Middle School 6^th grade basketball team closed out their season on Thursday night with a road trip to Warren County.  The Lady Raiders rolled to a 43 to 9 win over the Lady Pioneers.  The Red Raiders were not so fortunate as they fell by a final score of 41 to 21.

The Lady Raiders dominated Warren County to earn their 11^th win of the year as they finish the year with a record of 11 and 0.  Coffee Middle Was led in scoring by Olivia Vinson who had 10 points.  Sophie McIntruff added 9 points for the Lady Raiders.

Evan Kirby of CCMS basketball

The Red Raiders saw Warren County explode for 18 points in the opening period and could never catch up.  Coffee County was led in scoring by Evan Kirby who had 10 points.  Carter Conry added 7 points off the bench in the 4^th quarter.

Pekka Rinne

If it was a Stanley Cup Final preview, the Nashville Predators are A-OK with the result.

Pekka Rinne returned from injury to make 42 saves as the Preds defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-1, at Amalie Arena. The result keeps Nashville perfect on the road to start the season with six consecutive victories away from Bridgestone Arena.

In fact, Nashville’s 6-0-0 road record with three-plus goals scored in each of those outings is now tied for the second-longest such streak to start a season in NHL history. They also set a franchise record for the fewest games (13) required to reach 10 wins.

“It was a big game, and we responded,” Rinne said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game in their building, and we just battled and battled and got it done.”

It was Kyle Turris who gave the Predators the evening’s first goal on a masterful deflection. Off-balance and turned around at the right side of the net, the Nashville centerman somehow had the wherewithal to locate Mattias Ekholm’s point shot and direct it past Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.

And then, before the opening period was out, Ryan Johansen took a turn on the highlight reel.

Without question, it’s the best pass you’ll see all month. Maybe all season.

With seconds remaining in the first, Johansen – at least as far as the results indicate – used a second set of eyes in the back of his head. Along the half wall, Johansen flung a two-handed, spinning backhand pass to the side of the net that Roman Josi powered into the goal.

It wasn’t just that the pass was right in Josi’s wheelhouse, it’s also that it somehow evaded Filip Forsberg and a Bolts’ defender to go from Johansen’s tape to Josi. 2-0 Nashville at the end of the first looked a lot better in its making and its result.

His goaltender is certain is was all intentional too:

“Oh yeah, if you look at the replay, he takes a little peek and makes that spin-o-rama pass,” Rinne said of Johansen’s wizardry. “It was pretty unreal, beautiful goal, I wasn’t surprised, but it was pretty cool to see in a game.”

The shot total tilted heavily toward the home team in the second, as the Bolts steered 17 shots on goal compared to the Preds’ four. Nashville’s defense limited the quality of most of the Lightning’s chances, however, and Tampa Bay was only able to beat Rinne a single time in the 20-minute span. The middle frame concluded, 2-1, Nashville.

Tampa Bay continued to press in the third period, but Rinne kept turning them aside, making save after save to keep his club in the lead. Then, with less than four minutes to play, Johansen dished again to collect his 12th assist in his last nine games, this time to Calle Jarnkrok on a 2-on-1. Jarnkrok roofed his second such goal in as many contests, and later, Miikka Salomaki iced it with an empty-netter to make Nashville the first team to hit double-digit wins this season.

Nashville’s bench boss had one of the best seats in the house to a pair of dynamic performances, first from Johansen…

“They were beauties,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said of Johansen’s assists. “That’s who he is. There are no easy ones for him. The two assists he made tonight were just incredible vision, incredible skill level, but it doesn’t surprise me the majority of his assists are first assists.”

…and then from Rinne.

“He was unbelievable,” Laviolette said of his netminder. “He looked really sharp to me… He was brilliant, and he needed to be.”

In a skirmish between the League’s top two teams, according to the standings, the Predators found a way to win in what was arguably their toughest test of the young season.

And arguably the top reason for that success is a goaltender who has been doing just that for years and years.

“Unbelievable,” Johansen said of Rinne. “To come back in and do his thing like he did, that’s what we expect from him and that’s what he expects from himself. He brings it for us every night.”

Notes:

Both Zac Rinaldo and Viktor Arvidsson missed the game with lower-body injuries. Arvidsson participated in Thursday’s morning skate, while Rinaldo did not make the trip to Tampa.

The contest was the 1,100th of Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette’s career. He is the seventh active head coach to reach the mark.

Pekka Rinne’s 42 saves were a season high and his third highest total since the start of the 2011-12 season.

The Predators improved to 11-1-2 in their last 14 meetings with the Lightning, including a 4-0-1 mark in the last five at Amalie Arena.

Anthony Bitetto was the lone healthy scratch for Nashville, while Rocco Grimaldi and Frederick Gaudreau returned to the Preds’ lineup.

Up next, the Predators will host the Bruins on Saturday evening for Hockey Fights Cancer Night. More information, including how you can donate to the 365 Pediatric Cancer Fund presented by Twice Daily, will be available in the game’s preview.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report