Predators place goaltender David Rittich in COVID protocol

The Predators will be without goaltender David Rittich for Saturday night’s game against Carolina, as Nashville announced it has placed him in the COVID protocol.  Connor Ingram has been recalled from AHL Milwaukee in his place.

Rittich is in his first season with Nashville and hasn’t yet made his regular-season debut with the team, serving as the backup to Juuse Saros in their season-opening loss to Seattle.  He had a 2.86 goals-against average along with a .901 save percentage in 19 games last season between Calgary and Toronto, which led the Preds to sign him to a one-year, $1.25M contract this summer.

That meant that Ingram, who has been viewed at times as a possible backup of the future, would have to start in the minors again this season, and he cleared waivers earlier this month.  He was limited to just five AHL games last season after being in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.  But before that, he was one of the top netminders in that league in 2017-18 and 2018-19 before being even better in AHL Milwaukee after being acquired — posting a 1.92 GAA with a .933 SV% in 33 games in 2019-20.