Islanders blank Rangers behind David Rittich's 27 saves; Anders Lee, Simon Holmstrom score

An early goal turned into a 59-minute effort to preserve that slim lead against the Rangers. That the Islanders did so with aplomb aplenty was a telling sign of their growth and a result of how good David Rittich has been with No. 1 goalie Ilya Sorokin sidelined.

“He’s such a gamer,” Anders Lee said. “He’s a guy who shows up and he’s such a stud. I thought he was a complete stud tonight.”

Lee scored 58 seconds into the Islanders’ thrilling 2-0 win over the Rangers on Saturday night before a split-loyalty sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Rittich made 27 saves for his second shutout as an Islander. He backstopped a 3-for-3 penalty kill — which offset an 0-for-5 power play that produced only three shots — and even turned aside defenseman Carson Soucy’s third-period penalty shot.

“I think he has a happy-go-lucky mindset,” said Bo Horvat, who returned after missing five games with a left leg/ankle injury. “He takes the game really seriously but he looks to have fun out there, too. He enjoys playing the game. He’s been phenomenal for us all year.”

Coach Patrick Roy said the plan is to start Rittich against the Blue Jackets on Sunday to open a two-game road trip. Sorokin (lower body), who has not played since a 4-1 loss to the visiting Canucks on Dec. 19, was placed on injured reserve on Saturday retroactive to Dec. 20, but Roy said he will travel with the team and could start Tuesday in Chicago.

Marcus Hogberg, on emergency recall from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, is serving as the backup.

The Islanders (21-13-4) could have made Rittich’s night easier with more offensive production, though counterpart Igor Shesterkin’s brilliant performance in making 24 saves was a significant reason they couldn’t. But the Islanders made Lee’s early goal stand up until Simon Holmstrom clinched it with an empty-netter at 19:43 of the third period.

The Islanders made back-to-back late penalty kills after rookie Cal Ritchie was called for an offensive-zone trip on defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov at 14:41 of the third period and Horvat went to the penalty box for an offensive-zone trip on Noah Laba at 16:59. That became a six-on-four with Shesterkin pulled for an extra skater.

“Our players deserve a lot of credit for the hard work they put into it,” Roy said. “I really feel the way we defend and the commitment that we make to defend, it’s impressive by our players. I do believe we’re playing with more confidence maybe than we had when the season started.”

Rittich improved to 5-for-7 on penalty shots when he turned aside Soucy at 9:18 of the third period after Ritchie slashed him on a shorthanded breakaway.

“It’s a defenseman and he went to Quickie [for advice from backup goalie Jonathan Quick], so that tells you a little bit about his confidence,” Rittich said. “It gave me a little more confidence. It’s just a game of little moves and a game of confidence and I was on the right side.”

It gave Rittich a shutout in his first start in the Islanders-Rangers rivalry. Sorokin stopped 33 shots in a 5-0 win on Nov. 8 at Madison Square Garden in the teams’ first of four games this season.

“It’s great,” said Rittich, who earned his ninth career shutout. “I don’t really much care about shutouts. I’m not a big shutout guy because I don’t have many of them. We got two points, that’s all that matters.”

Notes & quotes: Horvat centered Jonathan Drouin and Emil Heineman and Jean-Gabriel Pageau slid to Ritchie’s wing on the third line. Anthony Duclair became the extra forward out of the lineup. “Everybody’s playing so well,” Roy said. “It’s heartbreaking to get guys out of the lineup.” .  .  . Rookie defenseman Marshall Warren, who grew up an Islanders fan in Laurel Hollow, logged a team-low 8:14 in his first game against the Rangers. “I grew up not liking the Rangers,” he said. “My best friend was a Rangers fan. Now he’s an Islanders fan. I converted him over. I went to a few Rangers games with my buddies and I would always wear different jerseys because I never liked them as a kid.” .  .  . Rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer played a game-high 27:03 .  .  . Forward Max Tsyplakov and defenseman Adam Boqvist remained healthy scratches.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.