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.

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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.