The
Nashville Predators on Thursday announced goaltender
Pekka Rinne will miss about four weeks to have arthroscopic surgery on his left hip due to an infection.
Predators general manager David Poile said Rinne had been diagnosed with a spontaneous bacterial infection in his hip, the same one he had arthroscopic surgery on in May.
Poile said Rinne complained of a fever after the team's game Tuesday at the
Minnesota Wild, which led to the discovery of the bacterial infection, which Poile said was directly related to the surgery.
Rinne is 4-4-1 with 2.31 goals-against average and .931 save percentage in nine games. He's 1-1-1 in his past three games, but has allowed one goal in each.
In Rinne's absence
Carter Hutton will start the Predators' game Thursday against the
Winnipeg Jets. Hutton is 1-0-0 in two games. In his only start this season he stopped 38 of 39 shots in a 3-1 win against Winnipeg on Oct. 20.
The team also recalled goalie
Magnus Hellberg from their American Hockey League team, the Milwaukee Admirals. Hellberg, 22, is 1-2-0 with a 2.23 GAA and .913 save percentage in three AHL games this season.
Trotz said he would decide his starting goaltender on a game-by-game basis. Hutton has played three NHL games, while Hellberg has never played in the NHL.
Poile said he'd like to see each goalie play at least twice before deciding if he would have to look outside the organization for a replacement.