Islanders Morning Skate: David Rittich Gets The Start vs. Oilers
The Islanders battle the Oilers at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN+/Hulu.
EAST MEADOW, NY — The New York Islanders (0-3-0) host the Edmonton Oilers (2-0-1) at UBS Arena on Thursday night. This game is an ESPN+/Hulu exclusive with puck drop at 7:30 PM, not 7 PM.
David Rittich will make his first start since signing a one-year, $1 million deal with the Islanders this summer. In 14 career starts vs. the back-to-back Stanley Cup finalists, Rittich owns a 5-5-1 record, with a 2.68 GAA and a .906 SV% with one shutout and 10 penalty minutes — yeah.
In his only appearance vs. Edmonton last season, he turned aside all five shots that came his way in 11:47 minutes of action.
Forward Maxim Tsyplakov, who sat out the final 16:30 of the Islanders’ 5-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Monday, will come out of the lineup. Kyle MacLean will make his season debut skating on the fourth line alongside Casey Cizikas and Simon Holmstrom.
“I want to bring some energy to the lineup, be a positive impact, and just keep it simple to start,” Kyle MacLean told The Elmonters. I’ve been watching the games here, so I’m just going to try to get in and bring some energy and just play my game.”
Here’s the lines:
Drouin-Horvat-Heineman
Duclair-Barzal-Palmieri
Lee-Pageau-Shabanov
MacLean-Cizikas-Holmstrom
Schaefer-Mayfield
Pelech-Pulock
Romanov-DeAngelo
Rittich
Sorokin
Interview With David Rittich:
Stefen Rosner: Just for you, getting back to when you signed with the Islanders — what went into that decision?
David Rittich: “Well, a lot of things. I mean, I had some teams that were interested in me, and I just felt the opportunity here is good for me — to play games and prove myself that I can still be an NHL goalie. That’s one thing. And obviously, you know, the GM change — and my favorite goalie growing up is the coach. That helps you.”
Stefen Rosner: I was just going to say — how cool, and how enticing, was it to get coached by Patrick Roy?
David Rittich: “Well, it’s awesome. When you can meet somebody whom you looked up to when you were young, it’s always a good thing. And, you know, I hope I didn’t f** up with my number.”
Stefen Rosner: What’s it been like getting to know Ilya Sorokin?
David Rittich: “He’s a funny guy. Sometimes it’s hard to understand what he’s trying to tell me. Like he was talking about some city in the Czech Republic where he went to play when he was young. He told me there’s a mountain and a castle — all right, that helped me a lot!” So yeah, he’s got some stuff I’ve got to get used to. But so far, he seems like an unbelievable guy — good to have him around. Obviously, he’s one of the best goalies in the league, and it’ll be my privilege to be a teammate with him.”
ISLANDERS NOTES:
Matthew Schaefer continues to make headlines early in his NHL career. The first-overall pick has points in each of his first three NHL games, clocking a goal and two assists. He is the third defenseman in NHL history to record a point in each of his first three games at age 18 or younger, joining Phil Housley and Jakob Chychrun.
Horvat’s goal in their last meeting extended his lead in scoring across the board against Edmonton. The former Vancouver Canuck has 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points in 42 games against the Oilers.
Rittich’s start will be his 15th appearance against the Oilers in his career. Lifetime, he is 5-5-1 with a 2.68 GAA and .906 SV%, most recently making five saves in a relief appearance on April 14. His last start against them came on Feb. 26, 2024, allowing four goals on 31 shots in a loss.
OPPONENT’S NOTES:
The Oilers picked up a 2-0 win over the New York Rangers their last time out on Tuesday. Trent Frederic broke the ice in the second period, and the rest was all Stuart Skinner. The netminder pitched a 30-save shutout, with Adam Henrique sealing the deal on an empty net goal.
McDavid has four points over his first three games this season, all of them being assists. The Edmonton captain. Newcomer Andrew Mangiapane has also had a strong start to the season, recording two goals and an assist in his three games of the campaign.
Draisaitl’s overtime winner gave him points in five straight games against the Islanders. The forward has goals in all five games, including multi-goal games in each of their meetings last season. In that span, he has seven goals and four assists for 11 points. He leads the Oilers in goals and points against New York with 13 and 22, respectively, in 17 games. McDavid has the most assists against the Islanders with 16 in 17 games.
On the heels of his shutout against the Rangers, Skinner (1-0-1, 1.44 GAA, .942 SV%) is projected to start for the Oilers on Thursday. In three appearances against the Islanders, he is 2-1-0 with a 2.34 GAA and .908 SV%, most recently making 19 saves on 22 shots in a win on Nov. 12, 2024.
