Rittich stopped 18 of 19 shots in Wednesday's 1-0 loss to the Sabres.
Rittich was good while facing a light workload, but Jason Zucker's power-play tally early in the third period was the difference. Rittich has allowed one goal or fewer in four of his last five appearances (four starts), but he's taken two losses in that span. The 32-year-old slipped to 6-5-0 through 11 appearances while adding a 2.37 GAA and an .897 save percentage this season. Rittich will continue to see a heavy workload until Darcy Kuemper (undisclosed) can return from injured reserve.
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Kings' David Rittich: Set to start Wednesday
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Rittich is slated to start at home against Buffalo on Wednesday, per Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider.
Rittich has a 6-4-0 record, 2.51 GAA and .892 save percentage in 10 appearances in 2024-25. He's coming off a 4-1 victory over Detroit on Saturday in which he stopped 17 of 18 shots. The Sabres rank 11th offensively with 3.33 goals per game.
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Kings' David Rittich: Cruises to win Saturday
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Rittich stopped 17 of 18 shots in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Red Wings.
Rittich came within 1:27 of a shutout, but it was still a good performance for him. The 32-year-old has won three of his last four outings, the one exception being a loss in relief of Darcy Kuemper (undisclosed) on Wednesday. Rittich went 3-2-0 in his previous turn as a starter when Kuemper was hurt in October. For the season, Rittich is 6-4-0 with a 2.52 GAA and an .892 save percentage over 10 contests. The Kings' system should help with shot suppression -- he's faced 30 shots in just one of his games this year. The Kings are at home versus the Sabres on Wednesday in their next contest.
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Kings' David Rittich: Set to start Saturday
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Rittich will protect the home goal versus the Red Wings on Saturday, Russell Morgan of Hockey Royalty reports.
Rittich starting shouldn't come as a surprise -- he'll likely see a heavy workload while Darcy Kuemper (undisclosed) is on injured reserve. Rittich took the loss in relief versus the Avalanche on Wednesday, but he won his previous two starts. Erik Portillo will serve as Rittich's backup, and considering the Kings don't have a back-to-back until after American Thanksgiving, Rittich may be in line for a significant run of starts.
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Kings' David Rittich: On hook for loss in relief outing
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Rittich allowed a goal on five shots in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Avalanche, who also scored an empty-netter.
Darcy Kuemper (undisclosed) left the game in the third period with the game tied at 2-2. Rittich entered and gave up the second goal of Mikko Rantanen's hat trick, which ended up being the decisive tally. Rittich is down to 5-4-0 with a 2.71 GAA and an .887 save percentage through nine appearances (eight starts) this season. The 32-year-old would likely take over as the starting goalie if Kuemper misses time, while Pheonix Copley would be a candidate to be promoted from AHL Ontario.
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Kings' David Rittich: Secures fifth win
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Rittich stopped 24 of 26 shots in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Blue Jackets.
Rittich gave up goals to Dmitri Voronkov and Ivan Provorov, but the Kings mostly controlled the final two periods. This was Rittich's second win in a row, and he's alternated starts with Darcy Kuemper over the last four games. It's unclear if that's the start of a pattern, but Rittich has done his part with a 5-3-0 record, a 2.67 GAA and an .890 save percentage over eight outings this season. The Kings have a two-game road trip up next with stops in Calgary on Monday and Colorado on Wednesday.
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Kings' David Rittich: Slated starter Saturday
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Rittich is set to start in the Kings' home game versus Columbus on Saturday.
Rittich will attempt to build off his strong showing Tuesday in which he stopped 23 of 24 shots en route to a 5-1 win over Minnesota. He has a 4-3-0 record, 2.77 GAA and .884 save percentage in seven outings in 2024-25. The Blue Jackets are 5-5-2 and rank 12th offensively with 3.33 goals per game.
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Kings' David Rittich: Allows one goal Tuesday
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Rittich stopped 23 of 24 shots in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Wild.
The 32-year-old netminder gave up a goal midway through the second period, but he simply needed to keep Minnesota at bay the rest of the way since the Kings scored five unanswered goals to seal the win. Rittich has made seven appearances this season, and while his results have been a bit inconsistent, his 2.77 GAA is decent. He's also gone 4-3-0 with an .884 save percentage, and that latter figure could use an improvement to give the Kings a bigger sense of security between the pipes every time Darcy Kuemper is not starting.
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Kings' David Rittich: Struggles in third loss
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Rittich allowed three goals on 20 shots in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Sharks. The fourth goal was an empty-netter.
Rittich never received a lead to protect, as the Kings were able to twice erase one-goal deficits but never pulled ahead. The 32-year-old has allowed at least three goals in each of his three losses. He's at a 3-3-0 record, 3.09 GAA and .870 save percentage through six appearances. He's been a bit inconsistent, though he's been pressed into more work than expected early on due Darcy Kuemper previously missing time with a lower-body injury. Look for Kuemper to get the nod Wednesday at home against the Golden Knights.
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Kings' David Rittich: Starting against Sharks
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Rittich will protect the road goal versus the Sharks on Tuesday, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports.
Rittich's last start came at home against the Sharks, and he earned the win with 24 saves on 26 shots. The 32-year-old netminder has gone 3-2-0 with a 3.09 GAA and an .874 save percentage over five outings this season. The Sharks have scored 23 times over 10 contests, so this is a good matchup for Rittich.
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Kings' David Rittich: Allows two goals in win
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Rittich stopped 24 of 26 shots in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Sharks.
Rittich was fine, as both goals he allowed were scored by Mikael Granlund on the power play. Rittich enjoyed a five-start run as the Kings' No. 1 netminder, but that is likely to end with Darcy Kuemper (lower body) back from injured reserve. Through five starts, Rittich is 3-2-0 with 14 goals allowed on 111 shots. He should be able to put up better results in a backup role that's likely to yield more favorable matchups -- the 32-year-old has generally taken care of business against weak opponents.
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Kings' David Rittich: First off ice Thursday
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Rittich was the first netminder off the ice at morning skate, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports, indicating he will get the home start versus San Jose on Thursday.
Rittich has been hot and cold this season, giving up 10 goals on 44 shots in two losses, and two goals on 41 shots in his two wins. He has taken over the No. 1 job with the Kings as Darcy Kuemper remains out of action with a lower-body injury. Rittich should have his best matchup of the season as he will face the Sharks, who are 0-5-2 while scoring a league-low 13 goals.
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Kings' David Rittich: Slated to start Tuesday
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Rittich is expected to defend the road net Tuesday against Vegas, according to Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site.
Rittich has won his last two outings while surrendering two goals on 41 shots. Vegas has lit the lamp 23 times through six games this season.
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Kings' David Rittich: Lightly tested in win
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Rittich stopped 14 of 15 shots in Sunday's 4-1 win over the Ducks.
Rittich started for the third straight game, and he's won his last two outings. The 32-year-old had a shutout going until Ryan Strome scored at 18:16 of the third period. Rittich continues to fill in as the Kings' top goalie while Darcy Kuemper (lower body) is sidelined. With his recent success, Rittich figures to get the nod at Vegas on Tuesday.
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Kings' David Rittich: In net Sunday
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Rittich will guard the road crease versus Anaheim on Sunday, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports.
Rittich will make his third start of the season -- he's 1-1-0 with an .878 save percentage and a 3.25 GAA in two appearances. The 32-year-old is Los Angeles' de facto No. 1 netminder while Darcy Kuemper recovers from a lower-body injury. Anaheim is averaging 2.75 goals for per game across four contests.
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Kings' David Rittich: Bounces back Thursday
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Rittich stopped all but one of 27 shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over Montreal.
Rittich, who allowed four goals on 14 shots and was pulled from Tuesday's 6-2 loss in Toronto, bounced back Wednesday to notch his first win. He was slow to react on Justin Barron's first-period wraparound goal that gave Montreal an early lead, but the 32-year-old netminder stifled the Habs after that. He is seeing increased playing time since primary goalie Darcy Kuemper (lower body) missed a second straight game Thursday. The Kings continue their seven-game, season-opening road sojourn Sunday in Anaheim.
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Kings' David Rittich: Guarding road goal Thursday
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Rittich is set to start on the road against Montreal on Thursday, according to Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site.
Rittich will look for a better result after allowing four goals on 14 shots en route to a 6-2 loss to Toronto on Wednesday. He logged just 32:22 of ice time in that game before being pulled, which is presumably part of the reason why the Kings decided it was okay to start him for the second time in as many nights. Darcy Kuemper (lower body) is on the shelf, so the alternative would have been to start Pheonix Copley if Rittich wasn't getting the nod. Copley also participated in Wednesday's loss to Toronto, stopping just 10 of 12 shots.
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Kings' David Rittich: Subpar outing in Wednesday's loss
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Rittich gave up four goals on 14 shots before being removed from Wednesday's 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs midway through the second period.
Rittich gave up three goals in the first period, and by the time Morgan Rielly made it 4-0, the Kings had seen enough and replaced Rittich with Pheonix Copley, who gave up two more goals the rest of the way. Darcy Kuemper (lower body) is considered day-to-day and might not be available to start against the Canadiens on Thursday, and if that's the case, then it's unclear whether the Kings will give Rittich another chance, or if they'll decide to go with Copley instead. This was Rittich's first appearance of the 2024-25 campaign after going 13-6-3 with a 2.15 GAA and a .921 save percentage across 24 regular-season outings in 2023-24.
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Kings' David Rittich: Ready to roll as backup
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Rittich made 13 saves in a 4-1 win over Boston on Thursday.
The 32-year-old's best season came in 2018-19 when he went 27-9-5 with a 2.61 GAA and .911 save percentage in 42 starts for Calgary. Rittich has been in a back-up role since 2020-21, seeing time with five teams (Calgary, Toronto, Nashville, Winnipeg and now Los Angeles) over the last four years. He will play second fiddle this season to fellow newcomer Darcy Kuemper, but will deliver strong results inside the structure of one of the NHL's best team defenses.
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Kings' David Rittich: Facing Ducks
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Rittich will patrol the home crease in Saturday's exhibition matchup against Anaheim, per Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site.
Rittich registered a 13-6-3 record with a 2.15 GAA and a .921 save percentage over 24 regular-season appearances with the Kings in 2023-24. He is expected to open the 2024-25 campaign as Darcy Kuemper's backup.
