Agent: Pekka Rinne 'upbeat' about recovery after injury

The status of Predators goalie Pekka Rinne remains uncertain Wednesday after he was injured in Tuesday's 5-1 win over Vancouver at Bridgestone Arena.

He left the game with 17:05 remaining in the third period after crashing into the wall behind the net with Vancouver's Christopher Higgins and Predators defenseman Anton Volchenkov.

Rinne has a lower body injury, and there was no official update from the team on his status Wednesday. But the team said his status will be updated at Thursday's public practice at Ford Ice Center.

The Predators did not practice Wednesday.

Rinne's agent, Jay Grossman, said he spoke with Rinne on Wednesday and said Rinne was "upbeat about his recovery."

Grossman deferred further questions on Rinne's status to the team.

On Wednesday, the Predators' AHL affiliate in Milwaukee recalled goalie Rob Madore from Cincinnati and he was the backup to AHL All-Star Magnus Hellberg for the game against Hamilton. Marek Mazanec, who did not dress, or Hellberg would be the call up options if Rinne is out for an extended period.

Rinne, an All-Star selection, leads the NHL with 29 victories, coming off a 2013-14 season where he missed 51 games because of a bacterial infection in his surgically repaired hip.

Predators coach Peter Laviolette declined to speculate on the extent of the injury after the game, saying only that he did not think the injury was bad when he initially saw it.

"You just never know," Laviolette said.

Volchenkov made a diving play with his stick to stop Higgins' play to the net, and Rinne slid backward, feet first, into the boards.

Rinne had braced for the save as Volchenkov knocked the puck away before the shot was taken.

"I was playing the puck," Volchenkov said. "It was just an accident. But it's hockey. Sometimes it happens accidentally."

Backup goalie Carter Hutton, who is 0-3-2 in his starts this season, closed out the game with 10 saves.

If Rinne's injury is more serious, Hutton could make his first start since the Jan. 4 shootout loss to Anaheim on Friday night when former Predators coach Barry Trotz makes his Bridgestone Arena return with the Capitals.

Reach Eric Stromgren at 615-259-8325 and on Twitter @estromgren.