Here's something you don't hear every day: Pekka Rinne needs to play better.

The Nashville Predators goalie, normally a brick wall between the pipes, needs to improve on his Game 2 showing if the Preds want to retake the lead in the Western Conference Final.

Rinne has arguably been Nashville's best player in the playoffs and is one of the main reasons why Nashville is among the final four.

His playoff numbers are downright nasty - .942 save percentage, 1.62 goals against - but he was uncharacteristically shaky, at best, in Game 2, allowing more goals than he did during the entire first round. The backbone of Peter Laviolette's group looked uncomfortable while allowing four goals on 26 shots.

Nick Ritchie's game-winner was particularly ugly.

The good news for Preds fans is that Rinne has proven this postseason he has a short memory, and history shows he's likely to regain his confidence in time for Tuesday's Game 3.

Following his previous two defeats in these playoffs, the former eighth-round pick has been solid, winning twice while allowing a combined three goals.

Nashville's defensive core is solid, the forwards are speedy and skilled, but the man in the crease is the glue holding Nashville together.

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The Vegas Golden Knights are one step closer to looking like a real NHL franchise, announcing Tuesday a multi-year affiliation with the AHL's Chicago Wolves.

The St. Louis Blues had been previously affiliated with the Wolves. Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said in a statement later Tuesday that St. Louis would not renew its primary agreement with Chicago beyond this season, but would "associate with the Vegas Golden Knights and supply players to the Golden Knights' AHL affiliate next season."

The bulk of Vegas' front-office work will take place between now and the June 21 expansion draft.

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The Arizona Coyotes continued their youth movement in the front office with the hiring of Jake Goldberg.

Goldberg, who was formerly the assistant general manager of the OHL's London Knights, will become the Coyotes' director of hockey operations, working hand in hand with GM John Chayka, the Knights announced Tuesday.

Chayka himself turned heads last year with his new position, becoming the youngest GM in NHL history at age 27. The addition of Goldberg continues a trend in professional sports of front-office executives becoming younger.

The Coyotes will take all the help they can get, as the club just finished two points away from the second-worst record in the league.

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Mike Yeo is getting his own staff.

The St. Louis Blues head coach will have a quartet of new assistants next season, as the club will not bring back Ray Bennett, Steve Thomas, Rick Wilson, and Ty Conklin.

Bennett spent 10 seasons on the team's coaching staff, while Thomas and Wilson were hired last summer.

Conklin was named the Blues' goalie development coach in July 2013.

Yeo was promoted to head coach in midseason, replacing the fired Ken Hitchcock.

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Peter Chiarelli made it clear Tuesday that unrestricted free-agent defenseman Kris Russell is a player he wants on his roster.

Although Russell only managed one goal and 13 points in a poor 2016-17 campaign, the Oilers general manager complimented the veteran.

"I want to have Kris back. I thought he was really good for our team ... his poise, his skating," Chiarelli said.

It was also announced Tuesday that Oilers defenseman Andrej Sekera has a torn ACL and will be out six-to-nine months.

After Adam Larsson and Oscar Klefbom, Edmonton's back end relies heavily on Sekera, and his injury makes the prospect of retaining Russell more appealing.

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Peter Chiarelli made it clear Tuesday that unrestricted free-agent defenseman Kris Russell is a player he wants on his roster.

Although Russell only managed one goal and 13 points in a poor 2016-17 campaign, the Oilers general manager complimented the veteran.

"I want to have Kris back. I thought he was really good for our team ... his poise, his skating," Chiarelli said.

It was also announced Tuesday that Oilers defenseman Andrej Sekera has a torn ACL and will be out six-to-nine months.

After Adam Larsson and Oscar Klefbom, Edmonton's back end relies heavily on Sekera, and his injury makes the prospect of retaining Russell more appealing.

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Ryan Kesler is embracing an all-too-familiar role.

The Anaheim Ducks pest said he shrugged off Ryan Johansen's remarks about him following Game 2 on Sunday night.

"I laughed," Kesler told reporters Tuesday via Sportsnet. "Got a lot of texts from my friends and family saying they're still cheering me on. He can say whatever he wants, though. I'm not going to change my game."

The Ducks forward said winning in his only goal.

"I'm here for one reason and one reason only, and that's to win some games here, and to ultimately win the series," Kesler continued. "So he can say whatever he wants to say."

Kesler isn't too concerned about his relationship with Johansen, either.

"He's not my friend. He's not going to be my friend, and he can say whatever he wants. It seemed like he was a bit rattled, so I'm just going to go out and play my game like I always do."

Johansen ripped Kesler after the Ducks forward slashed him repeatedly and caught him with a vicious elbow in Game 2, saying he doesn't know how Kesler's family and friends "can cheer for a guy like that."

Game 3 goes Tuesday night in Nashville with the series tied 1-1.

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Here's what happened on Day 12 of the World Hockey Championship in Paris, France and Cologne, Germany.

United States 5, Russia 3

• The U.S. rallied three times in its final preliminary-round game to win its sixth consecutive contest and hand Russia its first loss at the tournament.
• Anders Lee scored the eventual game-winner on the power play with about seven minutes left.
• Kevin Hayes' second goal of the game - and the period - knotted the contest at 3-3 with 2:17 to go in the middle stanza.
• Brock Nelson scored a goal and added two assists to lead all skaters with three points.
• Nikita Gusev opened the scoring and tallied twice for Russia.
• The U.S. outshot Russia 16-3 in the first period.
• The American squad (6-0-0-1) finished the preliminary round atop the Group A standings, one point ahead of Russia (5-1-0-1).

For full scores and coverage, visit the IIHF's World Championship website.

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Edmonton Oilers defenseman Andrej Sekera has a torn ACL and will be out for six-to-nine months, general manager Peter Chiarelli announced Tuesday.

Sekera was injured in the Oilers' second-round series against the Anaheim Ducks after taking a hit from Ryan Getzlaf in Game 5. The Oilers went on to lose the series in seven games, and Sekera's absence was a factor.

Before bowing out in Game 5, Sekera had blocked the third-most shots per game among all Oilers players, and was logging an average of 21:10 of ice time, fifth most on the team.

The veteran rearguard also had a solid regular-season showing in the 2016-17 campaign, finishing with 35 points and a plus-14 rating.

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The New York Rangers are making a few changes after a second-round playoff exit.

Assistant general manager Chris Drury has been elevated to GM of the club's AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, while fellow assistant GM Jim Schoenfeld will step aside from that role to focus on his duties with the NHL team, the Rangers announced Tuesday.

In an additional move, New York GM Jeff Gorton announced that Wolf Pack head coach Ken Gernander was fired.

Drury was a candidate for the Buffalo Sabres' GM position following the firing of Tim Murray, but the Rangers reportedly blocked Buffalo from talking to him during the interview process.

He was promoted to assistant GM of the Rangers in September after spending one season as their director of player development.

Gernander served as head coach of the Wolf Pack for the last 10 seasons.

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