With Darcy Kuemper injured, David Rittich has stepped up, just the way the Kings expected him to

Over the team’s recent three-game homestand, Kings goaltender David Rittich did just about everything but score a goal himself. Though it wasn’t due to a lack of trying.

With the Kings leading 2-1 yesterday versus Seattle, the puck slowly trickled back to Rittich, with a ton of time to handle it and a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” He saw his shot and he took it. The result was a zone clearance if nothing else, though Rittich said he might’ve had a little bit more on it…..if not for Brandt Clarke, who he said was standing in in his way.

“I’ll take the cleared zone and the two points.”

If not picking the empty net from his own crease is the worst thing you can say about his play recently, consider it a job well done for Rittich.

Throughout the three games at home, Rittich allowed a total of just three goals, with none of them coming in 5-on-5 situations. Against Detroit and Seattle, with the Kings holding multi-goal leads, the visitors scored late playing 6-on-5, goals that perhaps made the game a bit nervier, but ultimately did not impact the final outcome. On Wednesday against Buffalo, a power-play goal early in the third period was the only blemish on an otherwise stout performance from Rittich between the pipes. The Kings lost that game to the Sabres 1-0, but you certainly could not hold Rittich at fault for not picking up the two points.

“He’s been huge,” defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “He’s made some top notch saves to keep us alive or keep us with the lead and he did that last year too, so it’s not been nothing new. We’re happy to have him.”

The three games came for the Kings with goaltender Darcy Kuemper out of the lineup with a lower-body injury he suffered in Colorado. Kuemper left that game in the third period, with Rittich entering in relief, ultimately picking up a hard-luck loss. The saying is pretty simple when it comes to injuries – next player up. Rittich has taken that on, and then some, over the last week, delivering high-level goaltending to help win the Kings a pair of low-scoring games at home to maintain their standing in the Pacific Division.

Were this a player who was in his first season with the Kings, perhaps Head Coach Jim Hiller might be talking about it a little bit more. Right now, though, there is no surprise from the bench boss with how well Rittich has played. Quite the opposite. This is the level that Hiller has come to expect from Rittich whenever he’s in net.

“David had a great season last year too,” Hiller said. “If he was new to the team, you’d be like ‘wow, this is really good’, but we’ve come to expect that from him. He’s got a enough of a body of work with the Kings organization and we trust him. It’s a good feeling for the coach and the players that either one of those two guys, when one goes down, the other is ready to step it up.”

Certainly reassuring. And, between the way Rittich played last season and how he has stepped up with Kuemper injured, it’s why the goaltending situation was always perhaps a bit different than most assumed. Calling Rittich the backup out of training camp was premature. He earned two playoff starts last season and was a stabilizing factor in February, as the Kings saved their season after the disastrous stretch in January. The Kings know Rittich and they know what he can do. It’s why they re-signed him on a one-year contract well before July 1, with General Manager Rob Blake citing his performance last season, particularly in the second half. They liked what they had and it’s continued to be a good fit early this season, coming to forefront over these last three games.

“Ritter has stepped up the last couple of games, kept us in it,” forward Quinton Byfield said of Rittich. “In the third, there were a lot of big saves he made, he was scrambling around and always found a way to make the save. I’m really happy for him and how he’s playing right now.”

Over the last three games, no goaltender around the league has matched Rittich in terms of goals saved above average (GSAA) at 5-on-5, with the Czech netminder posting 3.72 GSAA in the three wins at home.

In the third period against the Kraken, as Byfield alluded to, Seattle began to surge. The Kings were in full control for 40 minutes, but the third period, admittedly, got a little bit dicey. Scoring chances over the first two periods read 24-10 Kings. In the third? 10-3 Kraken. Sometimes, you simply need your goaltender to make the timely saves as much as you do the overall quantity of saves. That’s just what Rittich has brought over these last three, particularly in the win over the Kraken. Rittich made the saves that the Kings needed him to make, in an important game to collect the two points. Exactly what we saw on Saturday.

“He shows it with actions, he’s playing unreal,” forward Kevin Fiala added. “Great saves everywhere. It’s too bad he couldn’t get the shutout [on Saturday], but it doesn’t matter, we feel very comfortable with him in net. He’s playing the puck well, he’s talking to us and right now, he’s at the top of his game. It’s very nice and I’m very proud of him.”

When asked about the way he’s managed the puck, Rittich deferred to the work of goaltending coach Mike Buckley, who he’s worked with now over the last two seasons here in Los Angeles.

Rittich is playing the puck with efficiency and confidence, which is a huge help for his teammates. He’s also managing the puck well. Making the save is obviously priority number one, but how effectively a goaltender can control and place the rebound is also important. Rittich has done a fine job in that area of late, crediting the work he’s put in with Buckley during practices as being important in that area.

“We’re doing a lot of good things in practices, with [Buckley], working on my game every day,” Rittich said. “It’s just paying off.”

Naturally, seeing Rittich continue to execute at such a high level would be beneficial for the Kings.

Hopefully it comes alongside Darcy Kuemper too, not just in his absence.

Making the starting goaltender on a given night into a debate is exactly the kind of problem the Kings should hope to have, if they can have both Kuemper and Rittich operating at a high clip on a nightly basis. Still, that’s a bit down the road, as Kuemper has yet to rejoin the group for practice and Jim Hiller did not have an update on his status as of Friday afternoon.

For now, the play of Rittich is the story and the Kings will certainly take and appreciate what they’ve gotten. With four games in six days coming up, beginning tomorrow in San Jose, the Kings will need Rittich to carry his share of the load, while also getting contributions from the recently re(recalled) Erik Portillo, who could make his NHL debut this week if Kuemper isn’t ready to go. With the play of Rittich, though, the Kings have confidence in continuing to bank points, regardless of Kuemper’s status. Pretty good feeling, if you ask them.

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images