Baby boy creates balance for Big Save Dave

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This article was published 15/11/2022 (1074 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The balance David Rittich needed came in a way he least suspected.

The Winnipeg Jets’ backup netminder signed a one-year, US$900,000 deal with the club this summer. Around that time, he and his wife, Nikola, welcomed their first child, Timmothy, into the world. The Czech backstop has seen a lot in his eight-year career, which has included stops in Calgary, Toronto and Nashville, but it was his son who helped him establish a work-life balance that was unknown to him.

“I think the biggest thing since I got my little boy, I’m not thinking about hockey at home,” Rittich said, after Tuesday’s practice.

“Before I was coming home and I was still thinking about hockey and what I can do more and I was way harder than I needed to be on myself. So, right now, I feel like I’m coming home and seeing him smiling, having fun with my wife, not thinking about hockey. And when you come into the locker room, you have full energy and full focus on hockey. So, I think that was the main thing that’s helped me to be successful so far.”

Admittedly, Rittich’s tenure with the Jets started on a rough note, allowing four goals on 31 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 20. Since that time, however, he’s settled into his role admirably, owning consecutive wins against Arizona and Seattle while conceding just two goals on 21 shots in each of his last two starts.

“I’m just trying to get my job done well for the boys and that’s all that I’m looking for. I’m feeling good, I know I could be a bit better for them,” he said.

“I don’t want to win all my games in overtime to get the boys some rest with back-to-backs but I’m really proud of our team, how we accomplished this win and how we battled through the whole 60 minutes.”

The Jets (9-4-1) are coming off a 3-2 win over the host Seattle Kraken in extra time on Sunday with Rittich in goal. The club sits atop a hotly contested Central Division as it prepares to host the Anaheim Ducks (4-10-1) Thursday at 7 p.m.

Rittich’s early success has surely been welcomed by fans, and possibly relief for those in the Jets’ front office, as the management team was subject to some scrutiny for letting Eric Comrie walk after an impressive 2021 campaign. In his 19 starts, the Jets’ 2013 second-round draft pick posted a 10-5-1 record with a .920 save percentage, one shutout and a 2.58 goals against average.

His efforts earned him a two-year, US$3.6 million deal this summer with the Buffalo Sabres, where he earned the starting job. After a terrific start, Comrie has cooled significantly, however, owning an .885 save percentage and 3.62 goals against average in 10 appearances.

The decision to bring in Rittich seems to be paying off.

“He’s ready to play,” said head coach Rick Bowness. “He works hard in practice. He knows he’s not going to play on a regular basis. He’s accepted the role, which is hard for anyone to do, but that’s his role on this team and he’s accepted it with open arms and he works very, very hard. And he gets himself ready. And when your backup goalie can have a winning record, that certainly helps your chances, improves your chances of getting into the playoffs.

“Ultimately, you want your backup goalie to have that above-.500 record and that really improves your chances.”

Rittich hasn’t just settled in the crease, he’s established himself as one of the more lighthearted individuals in the locker room.

“I have a lot of things to say (about Rittich) I can’t say on camera,” teased defenceman Nate Schmidt. “Dave is a breath of fresh air. He and I are some of the louder guys in the group. It’s fun to have a fellow chatterbox. A guy that is full of life and full of energy as well.

“I was interested a couple weeks ago how this was going to all work out — are we going to clash or are we going to build off each other? It’s been the latter. It’s been really exciting to come in every day and see him, and all of a sudden the voices start getting louder and louder?

While Rittich credited his newly forged relationship with starting goaltender Connor Hellebuyck as being crucial to helping settle into a new city — noting the two are “kind of the same personalities” — he also conceded he lacked confidence at points last season with the Nashville Predators playing behind Juuse Saros.

After taking over the reins in Calgary from 2018 to 2020, posting back-to-back seasons with 45 or more starts for the Flames, Rittich started 15 for the Flames in 2020-21 before moving to the Maple Leafs where he started four games over the remainder of the season. He started 17 games for the Predators last season before signing with the Jets in the off-season.

“It’s obviously harder to get confidence in your game and to be yourself on the ice. It’s a thing you can (build) in practice, but the main thing is if you’re not gonna see the games, you’re not gonna have it and that’s what happened last year. I didn’t see many games and all of a sudden I had to play playoff games without confidence,” said Rittich, who was lit up for five goals on 18 shots in his lone post-season game against the Colorado Avalanche last season.

“I got hockey games with no hockey fans because I played once every month, so now that I’ve had basically three games in a month, I’m feeling good about my game. I’m feeling good about how I’m connected with the (defencmen), with the whole team.”

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While it sounds like forward Nikolaj Ehlers is close to making his long-awaited return from a lower-body injury he sustained on Oct. 17, he did not practise Tuesday.

“The update is, if he shows up tomorrow like he feels today, he’s going to skate tomorrow” Bowness said. “We’ll try it tomorrow, as long as he shows up like he did today.”

Top-line winger Mason Appleton, who has registered a goal and five assists while filling in for Ehlers, also missed practice as he nurses an upper-body injury. Appleton left in the second period of Sunday’s game against the Seattle Kraken and did not return.

Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck skated alone before Tuesday’s practice but did not participate in team drills. His absence is no reason for concern, rather just a rest day for the workhorse starter.

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam