Takeaways: Islanders Shut Out Kraken 1-0

David Rittich recorded his first shutout with the New York Islanders on Sunday, as the Isles scored a 1-0 shootout win over the Seattle Kraken at UBS Arena.

Rittich stopped all 19 shots he saw, ultimately winning a goalie dual against Joey Daccord, who stopped all 34 Islanders shots he saw in regulation and overtime.

Kyle Palmieri scored the game-deciding goal in the fourth round of the shootout, following up a clutch goal from Bo Horvat in the third round to extend the game. It marked the Islanders first shootout win of the season, and first since Nov. 5, 2024, snapping a streak of five straight shootout losses. It also marked the third time in team history the Isles won a 1-0 shootout decision.

With the win, the Islanders also improved to 4-0-0 on the back half of back-to-back sets, making amends for a 2-1 loss to St. Louis the day before.

“It was a great team effort on the back-to-back with a tough schedule and everything,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “You don't want to lose two in a row and it was important to come with a solid performance like this one.”

TAKEAWAYS

- The Islanders liked a lot of things about their game on Sunday. They outshot the Kraken 34-19 and seemingly did everything, but score through 65 minutes.

As the pressure mounted, the Islanders did not crack, continuing to push, without pushing too much to open themselves up to high-danger chances – save for a last-second Seattle chance in the third period.

Mathew Barzal, Max Shabanov and Horvat had the three best chances in overtime and even when Freddy Gaudreau scored on Seattle’s first shootout opportunity, the Isles steeled themselves. Roy talked about the pressure on Horvat to tie the game – which he did with a bullet over Daccord’s blocker that came out of the net as fast as it went in – and on Rittich when the game was tight down the stretch. Palmieri followed suit on the next shot, also going high on Daccord. Roy called games like this a “moment” a result that could be big down the stretch – and Palmieri talked about the Isles cool-under-fire mentality.

“Finding a way to win close games gives you confidence,” Palmieri said. “To be able to come back and win a tight game like this will do well and hopefully give us some momentum for this homestand here.”

- Both goalies were great on Sunday. Daccord was the busier of the two netminders, stopping a host of quality chances for the Islanders off the rush from Jonathan Drouin, Cal Ritchie and had a key save on Barzal alone in the slot. Rebounds were few and secondary opportunities were far between, but that spoke to Daccord’s rebound control. It was a lot of one-and-done opportunities for the Islanders who also gave credit to Seattle’s ability to collapse around the net.

Rittich dealt with a different challenge on Sunday, having to keep his focus through long stretches without a shot. Big Save Dave’s big personality shined through in his postgame presser.

“I had more touches than saves in the second period,” Rittich joked.

He was good when he needed to be, notably denying Kraken leading scorer Jaden Schwartz late in the third period and stopping Chandler Stephenson in extra innings in the shootout. Rittich is 6-2-0 in his first season with the Isles, with a 2.59 goals against average, a .905 save percentage and a shutout so far this season. The shutout was the Islanders' third of the season.

- Matthew Schaefer played a game-high 27:23 on Sunday, recording four shots on goal with nine total attempts. He was active with the puck, especially rushing the puck through the neutral zone, earning praise from Roy.

“It’s probably one of the better games of Schaefer since he's been here,” Roy said. “He was in the rush all the time. He was making plays. He was defending well.”

- An injury to JG Pageau forced the Islanders to shuffle their lines. Cal Ritchie centered a line with Max Shabanov and Simon Holmstrom, while Casey Cizikas centered Anthony Duclair and Max Tsyplakov, with the latter drawing back into the lineup after sitting out the past two games.

Anders Lee also slotted alongside Mathew Barzal and Jonathan Drouin.

Anders Lee – Mathew Barzal – Jonathan Drouin
Emil Heineman – Bo Horvat – Kyle Palmieri
Max Shabanov – Calum Ritchie – Simon Holmstrom
Anthony Duclair – Casey Cizikas – Max Tsyplakov

NEXT GAME

The Islanders continue their homestand on Wednesday when they host the Boston Bruins. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.