David Rittich News: First goalie off Monday

Rittich was the first goalie off during Monday's morning skate, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports, signaling that he'll get the preseason start at home against the Rangers.

The Islanders are playing their penultimate preseason game Monday, so it could be Rittich's final opportunity to make his case for the No. 2 netminder job behind Ilya Sorokin. Rittich wasn't particularly effective during his preseason debut against the Rangers on Thursday, as he turned aside 20 of 24 shots while playing two periods. He may need to have a stronger performance Monday if he hopes to stave off Marcus Hogberg for the backup job while Semyon Varlamov (knee) remains out, even though Hogberg has also had some struggles during preseason play.