Pekka Rinne to miss NHL All-Star Game, replacement named
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The knee injury suffered by Pekka Rinne on Tuesday night turned out to be more serious than originally reported.
The Nashville Predators initially announced that the goaltender would sidelined for four games, including next weekend's NHL All-Star Game.
That prognosis turned out to be optimistic. It has since been revised to 3-to-5 weeks.
It's tough timing for the netminder who has emerged as the early favorite to win the Vezina Trophy after missing nearly all of last season with a career-threatening hip injury.
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in Tuesday's 5-1 win over Vancouver.
The choice will be a little trickier for the big game in Columbus. Less than a week after the All-Star rosters were announced, Rinne becomes the second goaltender to pull out of the event. Detroit's injured Jimmy Howard will be replaced by Islanders netminder Jaroslav Halak. Pittsburgh's Marc-André Fleury has been tabbed to fill in for Rinne. Despite playing behind an injury-ravaged blueline, Fleury, the Penguins' veteran keeper, is in the midst of a career year, leading the league in shutouts (6) and ranking fifth in wins (22), sixth in goals-against (2.16) and seventh in save percentage (.926). Halak has been a cornerstone of the Islanders' dramatic revival after last season's playoff DNQ.