As the 2024-25 campaign continues to go off the rails for the Philadelphia Flyers, they’ll have to play at least a couple of their last 12 regular-season games without key defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
“Injury update: Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is week-to-week with an upper-body injury,” the team’s official X account wrote on Thursday.
It’s disappointing considering the Finnish blue liner has been playing some of his best hockey since he joined the Flyers back in 2021. The 30-year-old last suited up on March 11 against the Ottawa Senators; he’s missed each of the club’s last four games.
With less than a month left in the season — and basically nothing left to play for — it wouldn’t be at all surprising if Philadelphia shut Ristolainen down for the rest of the season.
He’s had trouble staying healthy in the City of Brotherly Love, playing just 31 games last year and currently sitting at 63 in 2024-25. It’s been a solid year for the veteran, regardless; Ristolainen has managed four goals and 19 points along with a plus-3 rating on a lowly Flyers team.
He’s also chipped in 94 blocks and 97 hits in that span while mainly playing in a top-four role. Over 776 career National Hockey League games split between the Buffalo Sabres and Flyers, Ristolainen has chipped in 56 goals, 304 points, 1,254 blocks and 1,900 hits.
Philly has been struggling mightily without the 6’4″ blue liner, losing three of four games since the former eighth overall pick suffered the ailment.
Flyers’ postseason hopes have been completely extinguished
It’s been an abysmal stretch in Pennsylvania; the Flyers have dropped three consecutive games — all in regulation — and have lost eight of nine dating back to March 4.
With that, John Tortorella’s team is 28-34-8 and dead last in the Metropolitan Division. Although the roster has shown some positive stretches this season, it’s been tough sledding since the 4 Nations Face-Off.
With 12 games left, there’s a real chance Philly gets passed by the Buffalo Sabres, who are currently last place in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres are four points behind but have three games in hand.
Things aren’t likely to get any easier the rest of the way without Ristolainen, and it’s clear the way the team has played lately that there really isn’t much to play for the rest of the way.
The only silver lining is that the Flyers will be getting a high pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, which wasn’t the case last year after they just barely missed out on the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The only motivation now is to play spoiler; five of their 12 final games are against teams currently in a playoff position.
The Flyers are back in action against the Dallas Stars on Saturday afternoon as a five-game road trip continues.
After dropping the first two against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals, respectively, they’ll pass through Texas before playing the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs over the next few days.
Puck drops between the Flyers and Stars just past 2:00 p.m. ET from American Airlines Center on Saturday afternoon.
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