Kings' David Rittich: Shaky but good enough for win
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Rittich stopped 27 of 32 shots in Sunday's 6-5 win over the Golden Knights.
Rittich avoided a fourth straight loss, though he nearly squandered a three-goal lead over the last nine minutes of the game. The 32-year-old has allowed 19 goals over his last six outings while going 2-2-2 in that span, putting him at a 13-12-2 record for the season. He's added a 2.75 GAA and an .885 save percentage over 28 appearances. Darcy Kuemper will likely be back in goal Tuesday versus the Islanders and may start all three of the Kings' games over the next week since they don't have any back-to-backs.
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Kings' David Rittich: Tending twine Sunday
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Rittich will be between the road pipes Sunday in Las Vegas, per Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site.
Rittich has lost his last three starts, and he has only one win over seven appearances in the new year. The 32-year-old netminder has a 12-12-2 record, .887 save percentage and 2.66 GAA through 27 appearances in 2024-25. The Golden Knights are riding a four-game winning streak and have won seven of their last eight games.
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Kings' David Rittich: Allows four goals in loss
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Rittich stopped 30 of 34 shots in Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Blues.
Rittich took his third straight loss, though the previous two had been past regulation time. The 32-year-old netminder has allowed eight goals during his skid, which could prompt the Kings to seek goaltending help ahead of the trade deadline. Rittich is a passable 12-12-2 on the season with a 2.66 GAA and an .887 save percentage over 27 appearances, his most in five years. The Kings wrap up their road trip in Chicago on Monday, which is likely to be a start for Darcy Kuemper, but they host the Blues twice more over the next week (Wednesday and Saturday).
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Kings' David Rittich: Starting in St. Louis
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Rittich will guard the home crease Saturday against the Blues, per Lou Korac of The Hockey News.
Rittich will return to the net after struggling in his last outing Wednesday, when he allowed three goals on just 17 shots in an overtime loss to Vancouver. Overall, Rittich is 12-11-2 this season with an .888 save percentage and a 2.60 GAA.
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Kings' David Rittich: Poor showing in spot start
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Rittich stopped 14 of 17 shots in Wednesday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Canucks.
It wasn't a good performance for Rittich, who gave up a goal in each of the first two periods and one more in overtime. He's now lost his last two outings past regulation time and has just one win in his last six games. Rittich is 12-11-2 with a 2.60 GAA and an .888 save percentage through 26 games. Until he can get more positive results, he won't pose much of a threat to Darcy Kuemper's role as the Kings' top goalie. Rittich likely won't have to wait long for his next start -- the Kings have a road back-to-back up next with games in Dallas and St. Louis on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
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Kings' David Rittich: Expected starter Wednesday
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Rittich is slated to start at home against Vancouver on Wednesday, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports.
Rittich has a 12-11-1 record, 2.59 GAA and .890 save percentage in 25 appearances with the Kings in 2024-25. He stopped 25 of 26 shots in a 2-1 shootout loss to Anaheim in his last start Feb. 8. The Canucks rank 26th in goals per game with 2.74.
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Kings' David Rittich: Good effort, poor result Saturday
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Rittich stopped 25 of 26 shots in Saturday's 2-1 shootout loss to the Ducks.
Rittich had a poor showing in a shootout win over the Stars on Friday. He played better Saturday, but the results evened out, as he gave up two goals in this shootout to let the Ducks escape with a road win. Rittich has allowed just seven goals while going 1-1-1 across his last three contests. The 32-year-old is 12-11-1 with a 2.59 GAA and an .890 save percentage through 25 appearances this season, his most games played in any campaign since he saw action in 48 contests in 2019-20 with the Flames. Darcy Kuemper (personal) figures to be back in action when the Kings' schedule resumes Feb. 22 versus Utah.
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Kings' David Rittich: Starting again Saturday
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Rittich will start at home versus the Ducks on Saturday, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports.
Darcy Kuemper (personal) won't suit up, so Rittich will start back-to-back games, and Pheonix Copley will serve as backup. Rittich battled to earn a 5-4 shootout win over the Stars on Friday, stopping 26 of 30 shots. He has won two of his last six outings, allowing at least four goals on three occasions.
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Kings' David Rittich: Prevails in shootout
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Rittich stopped 26 of 30 shots in Friday's 5-4 shootout win over the Stars.
Rittich didn't have a great performance, but he got the job done against a tough opponent. The 32-year-old netminder turned aside both of the Stars' shootout attempts to secure the win. Rittich improved to 12-11-0 with a 2.67 GAA and an .886 save percentage over 24 contests this season, though he had lost his previous three outings before this win. Darcy Kuemper, who welcomed a child Friday, is probable to start Saturday against the Ducks.
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Kings' David Rittich: Tough loss to Bolts
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Rittich made 30 saves in a 3-0 loss to the Lightning on Thursday. He allowed two goals.
He kept the game close -- the score was just 1-0 until the 15:39 mark of the third period. Still, Rittich has lost three consecutive games and five of his last six starts. He's 11-11-0 with a 2.62 GAA and .889 save percentage in 21 starts this season. Rittich is a risk every time he's in the paint.
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Kings' David Rittich: Slated to start Thursday
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Rittich is expected to serve as the starting goaltender for Thursday's road game against Tampa Bay, John Hoven of SiriusXM NHL Network Radio reports.
Rittich has seen sporadic playing time in recent weeks, but he'll tend the twine in the second half of a back-to-back set Thursday. Over his last five starts, he's gone 1-4-0 with a 3.25 GAA and .863 save percentage, and he'll have a tough test Thursday since the Lightning rank second in the NHL with 3.49 goals per game.
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Kings' David Rittich: Struggles continue Monday
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Rittich stopped 27 of 32 shots in Monday's 5-1 loss to the Penguins.
Rittich has made only six appearances since the beginning of December, and the results haven't been encouraging, as he's gone 2-4-0 with a 3.04 GAA and an .876 save percentage in that span. He's also posted a save percentage below the .900 mark in each of his last three starts, so fantasy managers would be better suited to look elsewhere when Darcy Kuemper isn't starting for the Kings.
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Kings' David Rittich: Set to start against Pittsburgh
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Rittich was the first goalie off at Monday's morning skate, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports, indicating that he'll draw the home start against the Penguins.
Rittich didn't appear in any of the Kings' last three games, but he'll tend the twine Monday as the team returns home following five consecutive road matchups. Over 21 appearances this year, Rittich has gone 11-9-0 with a 2.52 GAA and .887 save percentage.
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Kings' David Rittich: Takes narrow loss Saturday
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Rittich allowed two goals on 18 shots in Saturday's 2-1 loss to Calgary.
Rittich took his third loss in his last four starts, a span in which he's allowed 11 goals on 85 shots. The 32-year-old netminder couldn't get the better of his former team despite another strong defensive effort by the Kings. Rittich is now at 11-9-0 with a 2.52 GAA and an .887 save percentage over 21 appearances. The Kings' road trip continues in Edmonton on Monday, but Darcy Kuemper will likely be in goal for the next few games since there are no back-to-back sets on the schedule over the next week.
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Kings' David Rittich: Facing former team Saturday
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Rittich will protect the road goal versus Calgary on Saturday, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site
Rittich will face the team that gave him his NHL debut back in 2016-17. The 32-year-old went 2-2-0 with 11 goals allowed on 95 shots over four games in December. Rittich will start because Darcy Kuemper played in Friday's 2-1 overtime win over the Jets.
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Kings' David Rittich: Sloppy in win
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Rittich allowed four goals on 21 shots in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Flyers.
Rittich made his fourth start in December, and he came away with his second win of the month despite an ugly performance. The Flyers led 4-3 after two periods, but Rittich made Anze Kopitar's two third-period goals stand for the win. Rittich is now 11-8-0 with a 2.55 GAA and an .887 save percentage over 20 outings this season. The 32-year-old is firmly in the backup role behind Darcy Kuemper -- Rittich's last two starts have been in back-to-back situations, and the Kings don't have any of those for nearly two weeks as they open 2025 with three games over eight days before a back-to-back in Winnipeg on Jan. 10 and Calgary on Jan. 11.
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Kings' David Rittich: Guarding home goal
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Rittich is expected to start at home against Philadelphia on Sunday, according to Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site.
Rittich has lost his past two starts while stopping 41 of 46 shots. He's 10-8-0 with a 2.46 GAA and .891 save percentage in 19 outings this season. The Flyers rank 18th in goals per game with 3.00.
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Kings' David Rittich: Takes loss versus Capitals
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Rittich allowed two goals on 20 shots in Sunday's 3-1 loss to the Capitals. The third goal was an empty-netter.
Rittich put forth a decent effort but didn't get enough goal support. He has lost two of his three outings in December, giving up seven goals on 74 shots in those games. Rittich is down to a 10-8-0 record with a 2.46 GAA and an .891 save percentage through 19 appearances as the Kings' defensive structure continues to limit the shots he faces. The Kings return to action with a back-to-back after the holiday break, hosting the Oilers on Saturday and the Flyers on Sunday, so Darcy Kuemper and Rittich can be expected to split those starts.
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Kings' David Rittich: Starting in Washington
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Rittich will defend the road goal versus the Capitals on Sunday, per Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site.
Rittich will get the second half of the Kings' back-to-back after Darcy Kuemper played in Saturday's 3-2 overtime loss to Nashville. The 32-year-old Rittich has a 10-7-0 record with a 2.49 GAA and an .890 save percentage across 18 appearances this season. Washington ranks second in the league with 3.78 goals per game in 2024-25.
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Kings' David Rittich: Gets little help in loss
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Rittich made 23 saves in Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Devils.
The Kings were thoroughly outplayed all night, managing to get only 13 shots on net against Jacob Markstrom, but Rittich kept his squad in the game until Jack Hughes broke a 1-1 tie with about seven minutes left in the third period. It was only the second time since the beginning of November that Rittich had allowed more than two goals, and over his last 12 appearances, he's gone 7-4-0 with a 2.16 GAA and .902 save percentage. However, since Darcy Kuemper is healthy again, Rittich seems ticketed to return to the No. 2 role.
