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Mar 28, 2010 - 5:55 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Nashville (43-27-6) at Florida (30-33-11), 7:30 p.m. EDT

Tomas Vokoun was the first goaltender to lead the Nashville Predators into the playoffs. The way Pekka Rinne is playing, he could become the first to lead Nashville to a postseason series victory.

Rinne looks to win his fourth straight road start as the Predators try to extend Vokoun's struggles with the Florida Panthers on Monday night.

Nashville (43-27-6) lost in the first round of the playoffs in four straight years, one of them in 2004 with Vokoun as their No. 1 goalie, before missing the postseason in 2008-09.

The Predators are in good position to get back to the playoffs, sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference. Rinne has been a major factor, going 9-2-1 with a 1.72 goals-against average and four shutouts in 12 starts since the Olympic break.

The most recent shutout came Saturday, when he stopped 38 shots in a 1-0 shootout loss to Detroit.

"It's not tough luck," coach Barry Trotz said. "He played well. I thought it was a good game. Both teams didn't give an inch."

Rinne has posted a 1.33 GAA in winning all three road starts since the Olympic break. He is 1-1 with a 1.94 GAA in two career starts against Florida.

He will likely face former teammate Vokoun, one of five goalies selected by the Predators in the 1998 expansion draft. Vokoun spent eight years with Nashville, becoming the franchise leader in every major goaltending category.

Vokoun was terrific from November through January, going 17-9-8 with a 2.05 GAA. He recorded six of his seven shutouts in that stretch and is tied with New Jersey's Martin Brodeur in that department for the Eastern Conference lead.

Vokoun and Brodeur are tied with Rinne in shutouts, one behind Phoenix's Ilya Bryzgalov for the NHL lead.

It's been a different story since the start of February for Vokoun, though. He has gone 4-10-2 with a 2.84 GAA, and suffered a 3-2 loss at Ottawa on Saturday that left him 0-4-1 with a 3.77 GAA in his last five outings.

The Panthers (30-33-11) are tied with Carolina for the third-lowest point total in the league.

"We're not getting anything," coach Peter DeBoer said. "Whether it's a goalie pitching a shutout or a defenseman getting on the board or a forward scoring two or three, we're not finding a difference maker on any given night."

Vokoun is 1-1 with a 2.00 GAA in two starts against Nashville, making 27 saves in a 3-0 victory Dec. 23, 2008.

Nashville beat Florida 4-1 on Nov. 28 as Dan Ellis made 23 saves. Scott Clemmensen had 25 in place of an injured Vokoun.

Florida is one of the league's worst penalty-killing teams at 79.2 percent. Nashville has gone 0 for 16 on the power play in its last five games.

"It's sort of the same thing with the power play," Trotz said. "You get momentum when your power play clicks. The penalty killers get momentum when you don't score."