After 13 years and 820 games, Rasmus Ristolainen says it ‘feels good’ to finally make the playoffs
The Flyers defenseman, who is the active leader and ranks third all-time in terms of most games played without a playoff appearance, believes he is built for postseason hockey.
Rasmus Ristolainen hasn’t pinched himself just yet, but you couldn’t blame him if he did.
After toiling through 820 NHL games across 13 NHL seasons — the third-longest drought in NHL history and the longest active one — the rugged blueliner will finally play in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“Really had to earn [it],” he said Thursday. “It took a while, but obviously, I never won anything easy. So it’s been a grind, and feels good.”
It has not been an easy road to this moment for the 31-year-old Finn. Acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in July 2021, a team that just ended its own 14-year playoff drought, the blueliner has not played 82 games since 2015-16.
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The 6-foot-4, 208-pounder’s last few years have been marred by injuries, including multiple elbow surgeries. He only played in 44 games this season, making his debut in mid-December, but settled in quite nicely on the top-pair with Travis Sanheim.
“A pretty simple game from both of us,” Sanheim said when asked why they’ve worked so well together. “I feel like, don’t try to get too crazy, and yet, try to work off each other, try to make plays when we can, and yet be hard to play against. We’re both big guys. We take up a lot of the ice. Try to shut down plays as best we can.”
The duo played together before, spending most of the 2022-23 season paired with other shifts sprinkled in since Ristolainen joined the team.
This season, they have played almost 500 minutes together. At five-on-five, they have the second-best Corsi For percentage (48.13) and expected goal share (53.87%) among Flyers pairs that have played at least 200 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick. When they have been on the ice, the Flyers have 23 goals and 20 against, 51.5% of the scoring chances, and 55.4% of the high-danger chances.
Ristolainen, who many thought would be traded at the deadline, has proved to be one of the best trades general manager Danny Brière didn’t make. Playing in all situations, the defenseman dished out eight assists and was a team-best plus-14 in 25 games after the Olympic restart.
“You put them over the boards, they are big [guys]. They’re tough to get around. In the corners, in front of the net, they’re big guys, and when they play big like that, it wears the other teams down,” coach Rick Tocchet said.
“ … They’re two big defensemen who are mobile. They can make plays; that’s the key. They just don’t rim pucks, and they’re not heavy boots. They both can skate, which is hard to find big guys that can skate.”
Sanheim and Ristolainen each went to the Olympics, with the former winning silver for Canada and the latter winning bronze for Finland. They learned how important it is to step up in the big games and learned the level needed to succeed.
“That’s where I feel like, kind of my season turned around a little bit, too,” Ristolainen said. “Obviously, got a lot of confidence playing against the best players in the world, and it went pretty well. So obviously, that will help.”
There’s been a lot of talk about how Ristolainen’s game is built for the postseason.
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“He just plays a hard, heavy game,” Sanheim said. “I think that’s what you expect the playoffs to be. He’s a pretty simple player, and yet, moves the puck well, contributes at both ends of the ice, and just the heaviness of his game, I think, suits the playoffs.”
And what about the Big Finn?
“I believe I’m at my best … the bigger the game is. [That’s when] I’m at my best. That’s what I believe in,” Ristolainen said.
Is it a mindset?
“No. Obviously, it’s different when [it’s] the bigger stage. You have a little bit of the good nerves, excitement, and just, it’s different when you play meaningful games.”
Breakaways
With Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League eliminated from postseason contention, goalie Carson Bjarnason was recalled on Thursday. … Forward Owen Tippett left practice early. Tocchet said he’s been dealing with “little things here and there” and decided to keep him off the ice a little bit more. … Forward Nikita Grebenkin remains out. “I haven’t really talked to the doctors about that,” Tocchet said. “He hasn’t really skated a ton. He hasn’t had any contact and all that stuff.” Grebenkin is not officially out for the playoffs, but he will need some practice time when he’s ready before getting back in.