Rittich has been diligently putting in plenty of time with goaltending coach Jordan Sigalet since arriving in Calgary for training camp last month, spending extra time on the ice after practices and morning skates to keep himself sharp.
"It's my role on the team, I'm the back-up goalie so any time if the coaches will send me in the net, I want to win. I want to play my best game. It's the same as today," he told CalgaryFlames.com.
"It's about my role, a goalie has to be ready every time. You never know what can happen in the game, anyone can be hurt and you have to go in. I want to be prepared for every single game, if I'm on the bench or if I'm starting."
Rittich will have to be on his game against a dangerous Rangers crew. Their last four outings have been one-goal games and they sport a 2-1-1 record in those skates. Veteran netminder Henrik Lundqvist, who is expected to get the start this evening, continues to be a pillar of strength for the Blueshirts, owning a 2.31 GAA and a .930 save percentage in his six appearances this year.
Offensively, the Rangers are led by Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello. Kreider, who has three points in his last two games, leads the team with six points while Zuccarello sits second with five points on the year.
"They're a good team," Peters said. "A lot of one-goal games ... You look at what they're doing here recently, it looks like their powerplay is coming alive, and that's going to happen when you have some coaching changes and new staff. It takes a little while to implement specialty teams but they're coming.
"They skate well. All their young guys play real hard. They're dangerous off the rush. Their D are active - Pionk is an active guy, Skjei is active, Shattenkirk is active - so we've got to make sure we handle their D and do a good job with our decision-making when we leave the offensive zone. We've got to be organized."
Up front and on the blueline, Calgary will keep the same lines and pairings from Friday's game vs. Nashville. Austin Czarnik, Anthony Peluso and Dalton Prout will sit as healthy scratches while Travis Hamonic, who is with the team on this two-game road trip, remains on the injured reserve with a facial fracture.
