Calgary Herald

FLAMES BURN RANGERS

Backup Rittich excels in the net

- WES GILBERTSON wgilbertso­n@postmedia.com twitter.com/WesGilbert­son

The opposition could barely beat him.

A flipped bird couldn’t bother him.

Toward the tail end of Sunday’s splendid 44-save performanc­e on Broadway, Calgary Flames backup goaltender David Rittich could hear a fan banging on the glass behind him.

One of his pals had just scored a crucial insurance goal, allowing Rittich to relax just a smidge as the Flames put the finishing touches on a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers.

When he spun around for a drink of water, the perturbed patron was offering a one-finger … uh … salute. Geez, tough crowd.

“After our last goal, I just turned my head … and he’s giving me the finger,” Rittich said, agreeing to recount the story. “So I just smiled and waved at him. He was just mad about the result.”

Most of the locals were. Rittich was tested early and tested often, but the 26-year-old from the Czech Republic was no doubt Sunday’s difference-maker for the Flames.

He had racked up 27 saves before Rangers centre Mika Zibanejad spoiled his shutout bid at the 6:41 mark of the third. He stopped 17 more pucks after that.

“Nobody in here would be smiling if it wasn’t for him,” said Flames fourth-line winger Garnet Hathaway after an impressive effort of his own — his first two-snipe night at the NHL level. “He made some special stops. He’s a heck of a goalie, and we gained a lot of momentum from him tonight. I think we were a little looser than we could have been. We put a lot on his shoulders, but he came through.” Did he ever.

Among his best work, Rittich slid out to challenge Pavel Buchnevich on an early two-onone, getting his right shoulder on a shot that was otherwise ticketed for the top shelf.

He bailed out defenceman TJ Brodie after an ugly giveaway, denying Jimmy Vesey on a glorious opportunit­y, then later robbed Buchnevich again with a toe save.

Shortly after the Rangers scored their man-advantage marker to trim the lead to 3-1, Rittich flashed a pad to prevent Zibanejad from celebratin­g his second of the night.

Before Hathaway sealed the deal with a breakaway bury with less than two minutes remaining, Calgary’s last line of defence stymied Cody McLeod on a dangerous deflection and again on the rebound.

Hathaway and Johnny Gaudreau were Sunday’s best supporting-casters, each potting a pair for the Flames.

Now with a grand total of seven goals on his resume, Hathaway tallied the would-be game-winner from the edge of the blue paint during the second period, waiting as linemate Mark Jankowski weaved through a couple of opponents and then re-directing his pass from close range.

With a skirmish starting in the neutral zone, Hathaway doubled his nightly — and season — haul with a glove-side shot past legendary Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist on that late breakaway.

“This is probably one I’ll remember for a long time,” the 26-year-old right-winger said.

When it comes to providing offence, Hathaway is not one of the usual suspects. Gaudreau is.

The left-wing whiz opened the scoring on a spinning back-hander and was up to his old tricks on his next one, making Rangers defender Brady Skjei look foolish as he evaded a stick-check with a series of dangles and flinging a wrister past Lundqvist.

Gaudreau has piled up a dozen points in eight outings this fall.

On this night, though, the story was the man in No. 33.

Serving as second-stringer to Mike Smith, Rittich has now won both of his starts this season.

He has a sterling 1.30 goalsagain­st average and .962 save percentage in 138 minutes of work.

“Every single game, it’s so important for me. And if I’m the net, I want to show my best,” Rittich said after Sunday’s careerhigh 44-save showing. “You know, the backup role for goalies is hard. You don’t have too many games. But when you are in the net, you have to be good.”

On this night, he certainly was. “He’s worked hard. He’s got a great attitude. He’s an unbelievab­le teammate,” Flames head coach Bill Peters said of Rittich. “And without him tonight, it’s going to be a different story. That was a real big two points, and it’s on his back.”

The Flames will wrap this twogame getaway with Tuesday’s tilt against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre (5:30 p.m. MT, Sportsnet Flames/Sportsnet 960 The Fan).

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 ?? ADAM HUNGER/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? Calgary Flames goaltender David Rittich watches a shot by New York Rangers left wing Jimmy Vesey, left, go wide of the net during Sunday’s game.
ADAM HUNGER/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Calgary Flames goaltender David Rittich watches a shot by New York Rangers left wing Jimmy Vesey, left, go wide of the net during Sunday’s game.
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