Philadelphia Flyers

Rasmus Ristolainen, Owen Tippett Returning to Flyers’ Lineup

Published

3 years ago

October 26, 2022

Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and right winger Owen Tippett will return to the Philadelphia Flyers’ injury-weakened lineup Thursday against visiting Florida.

Ristolainen has missed the entire season because of an unspecified injury. Tippett has missed the last five games because of an apparent concussion, suffered in the opener against New Jersey..

Tippett, who will be facing his former team, said Tuesday he felt ready to go. Ristolainen said the same thing after Wednesday’s practice.

Ristolainen rotated on the third pairing Wednesday. The Flyers will dress seven defensemen Thursday, so Ristolainen will probably get time on the second (with Travis Sanheim) and third pairing (with Nick Seeler).

Philly will use a different lineup because right winger Tanner Laczynski will miss the game because of a family matter.

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At practice Wednesday, Tippett was on the second line, which included center Scott Laughton and left winger Noah Cates.

“It’s always tough to miss games, especially the start of the season. You always want to be in there,” Ristolainen said. “Now it’s been two years in a row” that he has been sidelined at the season’s start.

Without Ristolainen, Justin Braun has been with Sanheim on the second pairing. The Philadelphia Flyers have allowed just 2.33 goals per game, fourth-best in the NHL.

A year ago, they allowed 3.59 goals per game, 27th in the league.

Ristolainen said the Flyers, who are directed by new coach John Tortorella, “have a stronger and way-better belief in the room” this season. “You can see we’re down in games, and I feel we still look very confident and we trust ourselves that we can come back.”

The 6-foot-4, 221-pound defenseman, one of the Philadelphia Flyers’ most physical players, says being around the rink and attending meetings has helped him feel a part of the team’s 4-2 start.

He was injured early in preseason, “and I got better after a few days, and then I felt it again,” he said. “But the last week or two, I’ve been feeling pretty good.”

Breakaways

Tippett was also on the Flyers’ second power-play unit. … Florida is 4-2-1 and coming off Tuesday’s 4-2 loss in Chicago. The Panthers defeated the Flyers, 4-3, last Wednesday.