Rinne, Predators shut out Bruins

NASHVILLE --Pekka Rinne made 26 saves for the Nashville Predators in a 1-0 win against the Boston Bruins at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.

Rinne, who earned his second shutout of the season on his 36th birthday, signed a two-year, $10 million contract earlier Saturday that will keep him in Nashville through the 2020-21 season.
"It's a pretty cool day," Rinne said. "I came in in the morning and signed a two-year deal. Extension, birthday, it's been an awesome day. Huge win. I'm just very happy, so proud that I can stay with this organization that gave me a chance a long time ago and still have that opportunity to chase my dream. I'm very, very fortunate."
WATCH: [All Bruins vs. Predators highlights]
Roman Josi scored for the Predators (11-3-0), who have won three straight and lead the NHL with 22 points.
"That's a really good team over there," Josi said. "I thought we played really well for 60 minutes. We didn't give them that many chances. Obviously, we'd like to play better on the power play and capitalize on a couple chances, but I thought as a team we played really well."

Jaroslav Halak made 39 saves for the Bruins (7-4-2), who are 3-3-2 on the road.
"I think in the first period we didn't play our game," Halak said. "We just wanted to come out in the second and play a better period, and I think we did. It's one of those games that the other goalie played well."
Josi gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 14:49 of the first period. He skated around Danton Heinen before deking Torey Krug and beating Halak short side from the right circle. It was his 300th NHL point.
"We really liked [the game]," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "We had some quick meetings [Friday]. We talked about some things and give the players a ton of credit because they really responded. It was maybe one of the strongest games we've played this year.
"We knew Boston was an excellent team. They're, right now, a top-5 team in the League. They compete hard. Their goaltending is good. They're dangerous. And so it presents a lot of challenges. I thought our guys showed up and played really well tonight."

They said it

"Clearly you can see if our power play and our top line don't score, we have a tough time. Our goaltender kept us in the game. I think, first of all, you have to be cleaner with the puck exiting out of your own end. Otherwise, you're chasing the game, you're playing defense. On offense, you've just got to get inside a little more, get some second chances." -- Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy
"The guys played an amazing game tonight. They didn't have much. They had a few good chances and I was able to make the saves, but I thought that we were the better team tonight."-- Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne

Need to know

Rinne also recorded a shutout (35 saves) against the Phoenix Coyotes after signing a seven-year extension with the Predators on Nov. 3, 2011, his 29th birthday. … Bruins forward David Backes returned to the lineup after missing the previous five games because of an upper-body injury. He had two shots and two hits in 13:17 of ice time. … Josi led all skaters with 10 shots. … Predators forwards Viktor Arvidsson (lower body) and Zac Rinaldo (lower body) each missed his second straight game.

What's next

Bruins: Host the Dallas Stars on Monday (7 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNP, NESN, FS-SW, NHL.TV)
Predators:At the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN)