ELMONT, NY — New York Islanders captain Anders Lee and Bo Horvat described backup goaltender David Rittich with identical terms.
“He’s a gamer,” they each told amNewYork following the Islanders’ 1-0 shootout victory over the Seattle Kraken on Sunday night at UBS Arena.
Rittich made 19 saves across 65 minutes of open play before stopping three of the Kraken’s four shootout attempts, which kept New York in it long enough for Horvat and Palmieri to score on successive attempts and earn the hosts a second point on the back end of their home back-to-back.
“Any time he’s been in the net, we just feel confident in front of him,” Horvat said. “We’re confident he’s going to make that stop. He comes to play every game, he makes big saves at big times, and he knows that we’re lucky to have him.”
The 33-year-old netminder has seamlessly stepped in to fill the backup role behind Ilya Sorokin. That’s no easy task considering just how dependable the previous duo of Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov, who remains unavailable due to injury, was. Rittich is 6-2-0 in his first eight starts as an Islander with a .905 save percentage and a 2.59 goals-against average.
“He brings a certain energy,” Lee told amNewYork. “When you get to know him a little bit more, you’ll understand what I mean. He’s a funny guy, he’s loose, and he’s a gamer. I think that’s the biggest thing I would think of right off the top. He’s stood tall in almost every game he’s played. He’s gotten us some big points and given us an opportunity in games.”
He has allowed two or fewer goals in each of his last three starts and in each of his six wins this season. His shutout against Seattle was his first in two years when he was with the Los Angeles Kings.
“They had 19 shots, so it tells you a lot about how much work the guys in front of me do,” Rittich said. “They work their butts off. It’s awesome here. I love the guys. I love the whole organization. We’ve been given so much from the organization and our staff. The only way we can repay them is by playing well on the ice.”
While chances were few and far between — he even joked that he had more touches playing the puck outside of his crease than actual saves made during the second period — Rittich still had to come up with big saves when called upon. He stoned Matty Beniers on a breakaway midway through the first period. With 1:39 left in regulation, he made a shoulder save on a Jaden Schwartz wrist shot to keep the scoreline goalless.
After being beaten by Freddy Gaudreau in the first round of the shootout, he stopped the next three men he faced.
“David made himself big, and he made those big saves for us and gave us a chance,” Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said. “You need moments like that in the season. It doesn’t look like this, but these are important victories.”
“Stay in the moment, do your best, and help the team win no matter what,” Rittich added.
