Adam Vingan

USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne has been subjected to harsh criticism lately, which hasn't been completely unreasonable.

In his previous 30 starts prior to Thursday's 4-1 win against the Jets, Rinne had a save percentage less than .900, an unfathomable number for a starting goaltender in the NHL. Allowing at least three goals in eight of his previous nine starts, Rinne was fighting frustration, but he found a reason for confidence Thursday by putting together one of his strongest performances in weeks with 26 saves.

"I felt good, and it obviously feels really good after a game like that," Rinne said. "It feels funny how long things have gone kind of south. It's not normal. A game like this, it feels good, and I try to take all the confidence I can get from this game to the next one."

Rinne allowed his only goal in the first five minutes, letting Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers flip a puck over him on a breakaway. After that, Rinne was impenetrable, staying composed in the face of heavy traffic in the crease and swallowing all of Winnipeg's best scoring chances and resembling the game-changing goaltender he has proved himself to be.

Predators finally solve Jets

"He played great," Predators forward Mike Fisher said. "He made some timely saves, and he looked really composed. That was huge for us to kind of keep that lead, get that lead."

Said Predators coach Peter Laviolette: "I thought he was really sharp tonight. Battled in there, he did a good job battling through. There was a lot of traffic in the crease at times and fighting through and finding the puck, making the original save, finding the puck to make the save, finding the rebound, smothering the rebound. He did a lot of good things tonight."

Wilson could be out until after break: Predators forward Colin Wilson didn't accompany the team to Winnipeg and could miss all four games on this road trip, meaning that his return from a lower-body injury might have to wait until after the upcoming All-Star break.

Wilson, who hasn't played since Jan. 8 and has missed 11 games this season, is on injured reserve. The Predators' first game after hosting the NHL All-Star Game is Feb. 2 against the Blues at Bridgestone Arena.

Josi plays 300: Thursday's game was the 300th of Predators defenseman Roman Josi's career. A first-time NHL All-Star this season, Josi leads the Predators with 32 points. He has 48 goals and 161 career points.

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