Bringer of Jollity
Registered User
Regular season Rinne averages a shutout approximately every 11 games.
Post-season Rinne has 1 shutout in 39 career playoff games.
Just for comparison, Corey Crawford averages a shutout every ~17 games in the regular season and every 16.4 in the playoffs. Quick every ~11 games in the regular season and every 9 games in the playoffs. Yes, we're dealing with relatively small sample sizes.
He may not be THE problem, but he certainly has not been "elite" when it matters most. That we have to point to a game 5 years ago in a series we lost as an example of him "stealing a game" is pretty telling. And yes, if you have to rely on your goaltender to steal games regularly, you're in trouble. But with such little margin for error in the playoffs, the ability of a goaltender to do just that is often the difference between a Cup and an early exit.
Post-season Rinne has 1 shutout in 39 career playoff games.
Just for comparison, Corey Crawford averages a shutout every ~17 games in the regular season and every 16.4 in the playoffs. Quick every ~11 games in the regular season and every 9 games in the playoffs. Yes, we're dealing with relatively small sample sizes.
He may not be THE problem, but he certainly has not been "elite" when it matters most. That we have to point to a game 5 years ago in a series we lost as an example of him "stealing a game" is pretty telling. And yes, if you have to rely on your goaltender to steal games regularly, you're in trouble. But with such little margin for error in the playoffs, the ability of a goaltender to do just that is often the difference between a Cup and an early exit.