Plenty had to happen for the Winnipeg Jets to even be in position to take a lead in the third period of Game 3 Tuesday night, but when that did happen, Nashville Predators' goaltender Pekka Rinne wasn't happy with how that played out.
The Jets erased a three-goal deficit to take Game 3, 7-4. Blake Wheeler put Winnipeg ahead 5-4 with just under five minutes remaining in regulation, a power-play tally that gave Winnipeg their second lead of the game, one they would not relinquish.
Moments before Wheeler scored though, teammate Patrik Laine took a high shot that caught Rinne in the mask. The puck knocked one of the straps on his helmet loose, and Rinne motioned to the referee to alert him of the equipment malfunction and to stop play. But the whistle was never blown, the sequence continued, and Wheeler scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal.
After the game, Rinne was upset with the referee's decision not to whistle the play dead, and that the power play was allowed to continue.
"(I) probably should have thrown my mask to get their attention," Rinne said.
In some instances, goaltenders will actually shake their masks off to really get the attention of the referee, and force him to stop play.
Pekka Rinne‘s mask was loose after taking a shot to the face. But like Tuukka Rask with the skate blade, rule 14 said you can’t stop play for a equipment problem unless the goalie mask comes off (rule 9). If Rinne flips his mask off, he could get a delay of game penalty.
— Martin Biron (@martybiron43) May 2, 2018
Rinne made 38 saves in Game 3, but for the second time this series and fourth time this postseason, allowed four or more goals (the Predators were 2-1 in those games entering Tuesday). After losing in Game 1, allowing three goals on 16 shots, Rinne has faced a combined 93 shots on goal over Games 2 and 3, and has allowed nine goals.