David Rittich turned in a flawless performance and received shootout goals from Bo Horvat and Kyle Palmieri as the New York Islanders edged the Seattle Kraken 1–0 on Sunday night.
Rittich stopped all 19 shots he faced in regulation and overtime to earn his first shutout with the Islanders and the eighth of his NHL career. The veteran goalie, now 6-2-0 as New York’s backup, allowed only one attempt to beat him in the shootout, when Seattle’s Freddy Gaudreau scored in the opening round.
Horvat kept the Islanders alive in the third shootout round, and Palmieri followed by converting in the fourth after Rittich denied Chandler Stephenson, sealing the win. It marked New York’s first shootout victory in more than a year.
The Islanders improved to seven wins in their last nine games, bouncing back from a narrow loss to St. Louis the night before. Overall, New York has surged to 13-5-2 since a 0-3-0 start.
Seattle goaltender Joey Daccord was equally sharp, stopping 34 shots in regulation and overtime. He also came up big late in extra time, turning aside Horvat and Matthew Schaefer during an Islanders power play. Despite the loss, the Kraken remained hot, going 4-1-1 in their previous six games.
Before puck drop, the Islanders announced that defenseman Alexander Romanov will miss five to six months following right shoulder surgery.
Up Next
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Islanders: Host the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night.
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Kraken: Return home to face the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.
