When the Predators take the ice for their playoff opener next month, goalie Pekka Rinne will be the man between the pipes.

And why shouldn’t he?

Rinne is the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, has put together another good season and has a winning record in seven years of postseason play.

“Peks has been the guy all year,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said Wednesday. “He’s had an outstanding year. He’s had an outstanding career. … He carried the majority of the games this year for us. He’ll be the guy that goes for us.”

But does that necessarily mean Rinne starts every postseason contest this season, as has been the case since 2009-10, a run of 83 playoff games?

That question is more challenging to answer this season than ever before, not because of any significant drop-off in Rinne’s game, but more for a variety of reasons related to Juuse Saros:

The continued improvement of the younger Finn, who’s posted better numbers than Rinne in some key categories since the start of the new year.

The fact that Saros, through six playoff relief appearances over the past two seasons, now has some postseason experience under his belt.

The fact that the 23-year-old Saros is the franchise’s goaltender of the future, who will — at some point in his career — supplant the 36-year-old Rinne in the Nashville crease.

“At some point, he will start a playoff game, whether it’s this year, next year or the year after,” Laviolette said of Saros. “There’s just a lot of confidence in him and the way he plays the game.

“So all (his) experiences — the growth of him being here, the practice time, sitting next to Pekka every day in the locker room, learning how to be a pro, coming in off the bench, starting games, starting big games, going back-to-back in some situations in the regular season — everything has helped to prepare him for where he’s at right now and what he might see in the future.”

Saros’ superior numbers

Rinne is wrapping up another solid season for the Predators, the 13th in a Nashville uniform for the former eighth-round pick (258th overall) in 2004.

Among NHL goaltenders who’ve played at least 30 games this season, Rinne ranks 10th in goals-against average (2.48), 15th in save percentage (.915) and fifth in high-danger save percentage (.847).

Another number worth noting in regard to Rinne: He’s on track to finish the season with about 55 games played, which would be his fewest since injury limited him to 24 appearances in 2013-14. That Saros has played so regularly and so well in recent months should make for a well-rested Rinne when the playoffs start.

“I think in today’s game, it’s a good thing,” Rinne said of his appearance total. “It keeps you fresh. I don’t feel tired at all. You do want to make sure you’re feeling good and you’re in a rhythm. But it’s been good.”

Added Kevin Weekes, a former NHL goalie and current NHL Network analyst: “The upside for the Predators there is two-fold. One, you didn’t have to play Pekka 60 or 65 games this year, so you effectively limit the wear and tear on Pekka. … Also, Juuse gains plenty of experience. He gets to play in more games.”

Saros has taken full advantage of his opportunities, rebounding from some early-season struggles to produce overall numbers similar to those of Rinne. Among goalies who’ve played at least 30 games this season, Saros ranks 12th in goals-against average (2.53), ninth in save percentage (.918) and 10th in high-danger save percentage (.837).

But Saros’ stats since Jan. 1 have been even better than Rinne’s.

In Saros’ 15 appearances, the apprentice holds the edge over the master in goals-against average (2.07 to 2.74), save percentage (.942 to .915) and high-danger save percentage (.883 to .818).

The 5-11, 180-pound Saros has put together a pair of gems in his past two outings, stopping 53 of 55 shots in victories at San Jose and Minnesota.

“He’s not the biggest guy, so he has to rely on his ability, and I just think he’s a real smart goaltender that’s able to play the position,” said former NHL goalie Brian Boucher, an NBCSN analyst who was on hand for Saros’ shutout of Minnesota on Monday.

“He has to have smarts and good reads, and he has to play at the right depth. I think he has all those abilities. That’s why he’s such a good NHL goaltender. I think the experience he’s had in the last couple of seasons — he’s built year after year on it — has helped him make a steady progression.”

2018-19 SEASON OVERALL Player Record GAA Save % High danger *GSAA Pekka Rinne 26-19-4 2.48 .915 .847 7.58 Juuse Saros 17-9-2 2.53 .918 .837 6.67

SINCE JAN. 1 Player Record GAA Save % High danger *GSAA Pekka Rinne 11-9-3 2.47 .915 .818 (-1.47) Juuse Saros 9-4-1 2.07 .942 .837 11.9

PAST 5 STARTS Player Record GAA Save % High danger *GSAA Pekka Rinne 2-2-1 1.99 .930 .833 2.26 Juuse Saros 3-2 1.78 .942 .881 4.41

* GSAA stands for goals saved above average, and it’s a tool used to measure individual goalies against the league average.

He’s been through the wars

Should there be an argument made for starting Saros over Rinne in the playoffs on Day One, based on the numbers of the past few months?

Plenty of Preds fans have expressed that sentiment on social media, but there was never really a chance it would happen this year. After all, Saros has never even played half the games in a regular season, nor has he started a single playoff contest.

In addition, Rinne has recorded nearly every big playoff win in franchise history, highlighted by his 22-game performance in 2016-17 (.930 save percentage, 1.96 goals-against average) when he steered the Preds to within two wins of the Stanley Cup.

“Juuse has had an excellent year. That’s a luxury (for us),” Laviolette said. “But Peks has been through these wars before, and he’s had a terrific year as well.”

Added Weekes: “You have the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, and he’s having a good year — a very, very solid year to this point in the season. That’s your horse. That’s your guy.”

No one has to panic

But there are at least a couple other reasons to believe — especially if the Preds make a long playoff run — that Saros might record his first start, even though it won’t be the postseason opener.

One is that Rinne has faltered at times during the past couple of playoffs, as he was pulled four times in last year’s postseason — three times against Winnipeg, including Game 7 on home ice — and twice against Pittsburgh in the 2017 Cup Final.

Rinne almost always bounced back well, posting a 4-1 record in games after he was pulled. But Saros has advanced to the stage that — if he played well in a relief appearance — Laviolette might be more comfortable in sticking with him.

“Maybe in the past, it was more solely on Pekka’s shoulders,” Boucher said. “But I think Saros is now at the point where you could play him for a series and he could probably do the job, or maybe for a portion of a series.”

Second, Laviolette — in previous coaching stints — has shown a willingness to shuffle his goalies in the postseason, though he hasn’t done so in Nashville.

In 2006, for instance, Laviolette turned away from starting goalie Martin Gerber — who’d played 60 regular-season games for Carolina — early in the postseason, riding rookie Cam Ward to a Stanley Cup.

In 2010, Laviolette split starts almost evenly between Boucher (12) and Michael Leighton (14) when the Flyers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.

“He’s not afraid to go to the other guy if he has confidence in him,” Boucher said. “I think that in the past couple of years, maybe Saros wasn’t quite ready for it. But I would say now he certainly is. I don’t think (Laviolette) would hesitate to go to him if he felt it gave his team the best chance to win.”

The bottom line, of course, is that as an up-and-down Predators team prepares for the playoffs, the team’s two quality netminders very likely represent their greatest strength.

Rinne and Saros have combined for an .866 high-danger save percentage, which happens to be tops in the NHL.

“I would let Pekka be the man because he is the man,” Weekes said. “But if for whatever he’s not on point or he starts struggling, then no one has to panic. They know they’ve got Juuse and Juuse can go in there and do his thing. So I think they’re in a great spot. Not every team is as fortunate.”

(Top photo of Juuse Saros, left, and Pekka Rinne: Christopher Hanewinckel / USA Today)