Peluso’s first NHL goal a true work of art

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This article was published 25/10/2013 (4365 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NASHVILLE — There will be no need for tall tales or exaggeration for Anthony Peluso when, years from now, he goes about telling the story of his first career National Hockey League goal.

It was highlight-of-the-night material.

Taking a feed from Olli Jokinen, the big Jets winger raced around the Nashville Predators net to beat Carter Hutton with a wraparound. It was originally ruled no goal by the officials, but confirmed with video replay.

“The last couple of games I’ve had a lot of chances to put one in. It was a moral boost for me,” said Peluso. “It sucks that we lost in OT, but we’ll take as many positives from the game as we can.

“We’re a team that is showing some resiliency. We’re not going to give up. We had some chances in overtime, but just weren’t fortunate enough.”

THE ICKY PP: The Jets were 0-for-4 with the man advantage, although there were some stretches where they had good puck control. And while they’ve now gone 0-for-19 over the course of six games, this is also worth noting: Nashville has now killed 19 straight penalties and has not allowed a power-play marker since Oct. 10 (vs. Toronto) — also a span of over six games.

“The power play continues to be a sore area,” said Jets coach Claude Noel. “You’ve got to get it done. We had chances, but it’s just not enough.”

RINNE SHELVED: The Preds announced Thursday morning goaltender Pekka Rinne, one of the NHL’s elite, will be out at least four weeks after he has arthroscopic surgery on his hip. Rinne had surgery on the hip in May, but after playing in Minnesota Tuesday he was experiencing soreness in the joint and developed a fever. A series of tests revealed he had a “spontaneous bacterial infection” and Rinne was to have the hip scoped today.

The Preds called up Magnus Hellberg from Milwaukee to replace Rinne on the roster.

“The line is, this always creates an opportunity for somebody else,” said Nashville GM David Poile. “How many times have we seen this in sports and in life?”

Hutton now moves into the No. 1 spot.

“(Goaltender coach) Mitch (Korn) has been doing a great job with Carter. He got his first game and his first win in Winnipeg.

“We’re bullish on Hellberg and (Marek) Mazanec down in Milwaukee, but the common denominator with all three of these guys is they don’t have any experience. As I remember going for a job interview the guy said to me, ‘You sound really good. You might have a chance for this job. But we’re looking for somebody with more experience.’ I said, ‘Well, how will I get more experience if you don’t even give me a chance?’ “

JONES SHOUT OUT TO TROUBA: Seth Jones and the Jets’ Jacob Trouba are old pals, so the Predators rookie D-man was disappointed his friend did not make the trip to Nashville this week. Trouba is out indefinitely after crashing into the end boards against St. Louis in a scary scene.

“It’s too bad. He’s a really good friend of mine,” said Jones. “When I saw it the first thing I did was text him, and he sent me a quick response. Hopefully he’s back soon.”

Asked if he saw Trouba’s response to the incident on Twitter — “Thanks for the support. If you were wondering, the boards are not edible. I’ll be back soon” — Jones chuckled.

“Oh yeah,” he said. “He’s a funny guy. He always found a way to make me laugh in the locker-room.”

Just FYI, Trouba also used his Twitter account to ask fans for Halloween costumes that incorporate neck braces.

Ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPEdTait