New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy wanted to pull goaltender Ilya Sorokin after conceding four unanswered goals. But the fourth goal was overturned, and Roy changed his mind. Now, fans can’t stop laughing at substitute goaltender David Rittich’s reaction.
The matchup between the New York Islanders and the St. Louis Blues marked the first game for Brayden Schenn against his old teammates in St. Louis, a team he captained for two and a half seasons before being traded to the Islanders on Friday.
Brayden Schenn standing ovation
Schenn had an assist on the game-winning overtime goal, scored by Matthew Barzal. During the first TV timeout of the game, Schenn received a standing ovation from the Blues crowd.
“It was a pretty emotional night. I can usually hold it together pretty good, I’m not going to lie, but driving into the rink today got me a little bit. The fans have been so good to me, the organization has been so good. It’s been a long time since I’ve played a home return game, a homecoming game, whatever you want to call it. This one just happened so fast with a lot of emotions. The one thing I will say about this group, this team, is they make you feel welcomed and they definitely make you feel a part of it right away,” Schenn told NHL.com after the game.
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Patrick Roy wanted to switch goaltenders
But it’s another sequence from the game that fans are talking about online. With five minutes remaining in the second period, Robert Thomas scored what appeared to be the 4–0 goal for the Blues. Islanders head coach Patrick Roy then signalled to backup goaltender David Rittich to get ready to relieve Ilya Sorokin in net.
However, the Islanders challenged the goal for offside, and it was eventually overturned. Roy then changed his mind — and Rittich’s reaction was hilarious.
“It all started with a great call by our video guys. That offside, it was nice for them to pick it up. I thought that was a key moment in the game, obviously, to keep it at three goals,” Roy said after the game about the Islanders’ comeback.
Fans joke about David Rittich
Fans online can’t stop laughing at Rittich’s reaction.
“Absolute gold,” one fan wrote on X.
“Damn, it’s really too bad the hothead coach didn’t get to put David Rittich in this game cold off the bench,” another wrote.
“Thank you, Rittich, for changing the trajectory of the game,” a third fan jokingly chimed in.
You can watch the reaction below.
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