It was a night framed by history at UBS Arena, and fittingly, the New York Islanders saw their backup goaltender, who continues to play like a No. 1, deliver a performance of historical consequence.
Before puck drop, a 104-year-old World War II veteran delivered a national anthem that felt timeless — the kind that stops you in your tracks. A few hours later, David Rittich authored a performance that put him on a list of goaltenders that hockey fans would only remember from an era long ago.
With a 27-save shutout, Rittich blanked the New York Rangers 2–0 and quietly etched his name into a statistical category that hasn’t been touched since before World War II.