EAST MEADOW, NY — After Ilya Sorokin started the first three games of the season and went winless, the New York Islanders are turning to goaltender David Rittich against the Edmonton Oilers, per head coach Patrick Roy.
Let’s not pretend this isn’t a massive start for Rittich.
The 33-year-old, who signed a one-year, $1 million deal with Long Island after a tough 2024-25 season with the Los Angeles Kings (2.84 GAA, .886 SV%), wants to prove he can still be a difference-maker at the NHL level.
When it comes to Roy—and most coaches—trust is often the biggest factor in determining playing time. Whether the decision to start Rittich has more to do with Sorokin’s struggles out of the gate or confidence in Rittich himself, the Islanders desperately need a strong goaltending performance Thursday night.
The Oilers haven’t been a dominant offense despite their 2-0-1 record, scoring just eight goals (29th in the NHL). The Islanders rank dead last with seven.
Still, we know how quickly Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl can take over a game.
Rittich’s nickname is “Big Save Dave,” and he’ll need to live up to it.
The job of an NHL backup is, well, to win games—but also to keep his team in them. The worst-case scenario is a backup being the reason for a loss.
To be fair, Sorokin hasn’t quite held up his end of the bargain in that regard. While he’s made some miraculous saves to keep the Islanders in games, costly mistakes—whether from rebound control or positioning—have led directly to goals and losses.
The Islanders don’t just want, but need, Rittich to serve as a stopgap, like an ace starting pitcher in baseball.
It’s a daunting task. But this isn’t just an important game for the Islanders, Roy, the players in the room, and first-year general manager Mathieu Darche—it’s a monumental one for Rittich and his future role.
Last season, when Semyon Varlamov got hurt in late November, the Islanders recalled Marcus Högberg from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League on Dec. 2.
Roy said he trusted Högberg, but still rode Sorokin for 11 straight games before finally turning to Högberg on Dec. 29.
Högberg made a strong first impression, stopping 38 of 41 shots in a 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins—a performance that earned Roy’s trust.
Even if Rittich delivers a tremendous outing, he won’t take over as the club’s starter. That just won’t happen.
But what it would do is give Roy the confidence to go back to Rittich and not feel like he has to overwork Sorokin, who doesn’t look settled at the moment.
Running Sorokin into the ground has become a necessity for the franchise in recent years, and it’s not a sustainable strategy. If Rittich can truly be “Big Save Dave” and help steady things for Sorokin, it would be a massive storyline for the Islanders as the season moves forward.
Let’s see what Rittich’s got when the puck drops at 7:30 p.m. at UBS Arena.
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