Rasmus Ristolainen has been Mr. Consistent on the Flyers blue line: ‘When he moves his legs, he’s a really good player’

NASHVILLE — How well is Rasmus Ristolainen playing these days?

Monday against the Vegas Golden Knights was just one game, but it was a good snapshot of his 22 games thus far.

The eye test will tell you he’s defensively responsible, laying big checks — credited with three — and pitching in offensively. Against Vegas, he took a drop pass from Owen Tippett as they crossed above the top of the left faceoff circle and sent a shot on goal that Morgan Frost tipped past Ilya Samsonov. It was the all-important first goal of the game.

The analytics are even better. According to Natural Stat Trick, at five-on-five, the Flyers had more shot attempts (75%), more shots (76.5%), and scoring chances (82.4%), with nine high-danger chances, and an expected goals for rate of 73.72%. Those numbers were the best among the Flyers — and the Golden Knights, who won in a shootout.

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“He’s obviously playing well,” defenseman Travis Sanheim said. “I think it’s something that we’ve seen in the past, in how well he can play at both ends of the ice. His skating has allowed him to get up the ice, and he’s been making some good plays, joining offensively, joining down low. He’s just playing really well right now, and it’s fun to watch.”

What has been the key to Ristolainen’s game lately? According to coach John Tortorella, it’s simple.

“He was brutal. When I first came here, he was awful because he did not move his legs,” he said bluntly on Wednesday. “When he moves his legs, he’s a really good player, and that’s a big man moving his legs, able to move a puck.

“What he did, especially the last game, as far as surfing, and jamming that neutral zone with his legs, it gave us so much more opportunities to create offense. I think we had 26 scoring chances. I know they had some injuries, it’s still a really good team they put out there, and against a big D, I thought it was one of our better games in jamming the neutral zone and getting us back into the offense.”

Ristolainen has one goal and four assists in 22 games with a plus-minus of minus-2. If the season ended today, that mark would tie the best plus-minus rating of his career, set in 2019-20 with the Buffalo Sabres.

But the biggest factor for the blueliner, who should hear his name called Dec. 4 when Finland announces its 4 Nations Face-Off roster, has been his health. Thus far, he’s played in every game, including in the Flyers’ season opener for the first time since being acquired in July 2021.

“Yeah, I am fully healthy, and had a long, long offseason,” he said. “The body healed pretty well, and got some pretty good training and I’ve found my legs lately.”

Tortorella has been leaning on Ristolainen, especially in the defensive zone. According to MoneyPuck, he is starting 18.2% of his shifts in the defensive zone. It is the highest percentage of his 12-year NHL career, and since mid-November, associate coach Brad Shaw has gone to him more than any other defenseman when there’s a faceoff in the Flyers end.

Part of the reason is he is a key cog in the breakout, often using his 6-foot-4, 208-pound bodyto protect it. He leads all Flyers defensemen in hits with 41, and is third among blueliners in blocked shots with 34. Ristolainen has also drawn the second-highest total of penalties on the Flyers, behind Sean Couturier.

“I think he’s always had a great upside to his game,” the Flyers captain said of Ristolainen. “Big right-handed D-man, physical, can skate. Those guys are hard to play against. Remember when he was in Buffalo, he’s one of those pain-in-the-[butt] types to play against, always in your face and physical, and you had to fight for every inch out there.”

Ristolainen has been skating on a pairing with 5-foot-9 rookie Emil Andrae. Against Vegas, Andrae was not far off from Ristolainen’s numbers. Tortorella put the Scandinavians together to see how the 22-year-old Swede does against top lines. He was impressed by Andrae’s goal against Vegas, specifically how the youngster scored “because he’s not sitting at the blue line, right? He is 20 feet in sniffing. He’s just sniffing for offense.”

“You can’t teach that type of instinct,” the bench boss added. It was one of three goals the Flyers scored with the pairing on the ice.

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“We tried them as a pair; they’ve been good,” Tortorella said. “I think Risto has played a complete game pretty consistently, of bringing offense to us and also killing plays as far as defensively because he’s such a big man. When his legs are moving with the puck ... he has escaped so well out of our end zone without even making a pass, just with his legs and escaping and then putting the puck up the ice.”

Ristolainen said he doesn’t mind taking care of the Flyers’ end first with Andrae being a little more offense-minded. For him, it has been fun playing with the youngster, who Tortorella said has some “moxie.” As the elder statesman by eight years, Ristolainen has been focusing on helping Andrae feel comfortable on the ice.

And Andrae likes being partnered with Ristolainen. Both are vocal, and they communicate effectively — which is critical in the zone defense the Flyers employ. “I hear him all the time, and that helps so much when you want to move the puck,” Andrae said, adding that he can trust Ristolainen to cover for him when he is up in the play. Because they talk on the ice so much, there isn’t too much chatter on the bench.

“Just small things here and there,” Andrae said. “But when you are in the game, you’re just playing. When there are issues or problems on the ice, you just talk it out for a couple of minutes, and then you just keep moving, keep playing. ... But I think we played good enough so we don’t really have to talk too much.”

Aleksei Kolosov will start tonight against the Nashville Predators (8, NBCSP+). He won his last start, Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks, after beginning the season 0-4-0. ... Defenseman Jamie Drysdale again skated in the morning skate in a regular jersey. He will not play against the Predators.

Around the rinks is a new segment every Friday, highlighting the local ice, ball, and inline hockey scene. Submit entries with the subject: Around the rinks, to [email protected] by noon on Nov. 29.