Rinne becomes winningest Finnish goalie in NHL history
Pekka Rinne's latest victory was one for the record books.
The reigning Vezina Trophy winner backstopped the Nashville Predators to a 4-1 triumph over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night, capturing his 320th career win to move past Miikka Kiprusoff for the most all time by a Finnish-born goaltender.
Rinne accomplished the feat in 43 fewer games than Kiprusoff, who retired following the 2012-13 season.
Here's the leaderboard as far as netminders from Finland are concerned:
| Goaltender | W | GP |
|---|---|---|
| Rinne | 320 | 580 |
| Kiprusoff | 319 | 623 |
| Kari Lehtonen | 301 | 649 |
| Tuukka Rask | 242 | 458 |
| Antti Niemi | 238 | 453 |
| Niklas Backstrom | 196 | 413 |
| Vesa Toskala | 129 | 266 |
| Antero Niittymaki | 95 | 234 |
| Antti Raanta | 73 | 150 |
| Karri Ramo | 60 | 159 |
Rinne reminisced about Kiprusoff when asked about the achievement postgame.
"He was kind of the first Finnish superstar goalie," Rinne told reporters including The Athletic's John Glennon. "It was nice to play against him, especially when I was younger. I especially tried to watch him play and things like that. So for sure, it's cool.”