Predators' goalie named one of NHL's top performers for the week

Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne was named the National Hockey League’s Second Star of the Week, the league office announced on Monday.

Rinne started two games and earned a victory off the bench in another last week as the Predators won three in a row for the first time this season.

He posted his first shutout of the season (the eighth of his career) in a 2-0 victory Thursday over Chicago. He made 22 saves in that game and followed with 27 stops in a 4-2 victory Saturday against Dallas.

He has accounted for the Predators’ last four shutouts and six of the last seven.

For the week he had a 0.76 goals-against average (GAA) and a .968 save percentage. He improved to 4-3-0 with a 2.63 GAA and a .910 save percentage for the season.

It is the second weekly award of his career and the first this season by a Nashville player. He was the NHL’s First Star for Dec. 1-7, 2008.