NY Islanders goalie David Rittich has been historically dominant against NY Rangers

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. Rittich is now 4-0-0 lifetime against the Rangers, having allowed just three total goals across those four appearances. His career numbers in the matchup — a 0.75 goals-against average and a .975 save percentage — are the best of any goalie who has faced the Rangers multiple times.

According to Islanders statistician Eric Hornick, Rittich became just the third goaltender in NHL history to post a career record of 4-0-0 or better against the Rangers, joining Benny Grant (7-0-0) and Jim Franks (4-0-0). Neither of those goalies played a single game after World War II.

Islanders fans may have initially groaned when franchise netminder Ilya Sorokin was placed on injured reserve ahead of the rivalry game. Missing your No. 1 goalie against your biggest rival rarely feels ideal. But in hindsight, it proved almost serendipitous.

Rittich has dominated the Rangers regardless of sweater color, but doing it as an Islander carried extra weight. Calm, aggressive and unbothered by the moment, he turned aside breakaways, a penalty shot, controlled rebounds and never let the Rangers breathe.

While the most memorable performance came before the game, what Rittich did in net, and continues to do between the pipes against the Rangers is new memory for this rivalry.