Rasmus Ristolainen Scores Overtime Winner in Flyers’ Victory Over Red Wings
Credit: Nov 18, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (55) against the Colorado Avalanche at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
It wasn’t an eventful victory, but it was a victory.
The Flyers beat the Detroit Red Wings tonight 2-1 in a defensive battle. Samuel Ersson has officially reclaimed his title as the starting goalie, coming back very strong from injury and stringing together several impressive performances. He made 27 saves on 28 shots for a .964 save percentage and has been the main reason for this recent Flyers turnaround. This marks a season-best six-game point streak for the Flyers and currently puts them at just two points outside of a playoff spot.
The best word to describe the first period would be fast. Not much happened and it mostly consisted of both teams skating up and down the ice and being unable to score, but also not stopping play. The Flyers managed to get up just eight shots in the period, with four of them coming from Matvei Michkov. While none of these found the back of the net, it was a real positive sign to see how Michkov can really take over for the team from an offensive perspective. The Red Wings, on the other hand, were even less threatening in the first period, managing only six shots for the entire period.
The second quarter was much of the same. The only difference here was that the Flyers were able to get on the board. A great offensive sequence saw Michkov find an open Sean Couturier, who moved the puck along to Joel Farabee. Farabee went forehand, and backhand, and lit the lamp for Philly. Since returning from his three-game benching, Farabee has been an absolute monster for the Flyers.
A backhand beauty from Beezer. ?#DETvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/J8xbsyKeML
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 22, 2025
John Tortorella made it very clear that this benching was not a punishment for the young forward, but a chance for him to reset and figure out a way out of his slump. Needless to say, this was clearly the right move. In his three games back Farabee has three points and has been a force on offense.
While this goal was impressive, it was just one of three shots that the Flyers were able to put up against Detroit for the entire second period. This included a power play where they were only able to get one shot against the Red Wings penalty kill, which is ranked dead last in the NHL. Thankfully for the Flyers, the Red Wings seemed to be completely asleep on offense, ending two periods of play without a goal to show for it.
The Red Wings finally woke up with the start of the third period, when Ben Chiarot scored within the first 30 seconds of the period to tie the game. The remaining 19 minutes and 30 seconds provided pretty much the same thing we saw for the entire game minus those two goals. The main difference was the fact that both offenses finally seemed to wake up, putting up several more shots. However, both Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson and Red Wings goalie Alex Lyon would not relent, preventing any more goals.
Regulation would come to 1-1, and just as they had 14 times before this season, the Flyers went to overtime, and it seemed like for the seventh time this season they would go to shootouts. With 26 seconds left to go though, Rasmus Ristolainen would end the game, or was it Owen Tippett, or maybe it was Farabee again? All three of them could have been the ones to push the puck across the goal line, and while the goal itself was credited to Ristolainen, the only thing that really matters is that the Flyers got the win once again.
RISTO (we think) WINS IT FOR THE #FLYERS‼️#LETSGOFLYERS pic.twitter.com/c61JohKHLB
— Philly Sports Reports (@PhlySprtsReprts) January 22, 2025
Prior to the game today, Daniel Brière made it very clear to the media that the Flyers are not shopping Ristolainen and view him as a valuable asset for this team. With a clutch performance like that, you understand why teams are inquiring about trading for him, and you understand even more why Brière said no.
The Flyers will head to New York City for a game against the Rangers on Thursday the 23rd at 7:00 pm EST. The game can be watched on NBS Sports Philadelphia.
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Bo Lynett
Bo has been a fan of Philly sports his whole life and has spent the entirety of his four years at Colgate University working to start a career in sports media. Double majoring in Economics and Film & Media Studies gave him the opportunity to study both the financial/ analytical and broadcasting/ production sides of the sports world. Outside of the classroom, he’s worked as a director and producer for Colgate’s athletic events streamed on ESPN+ and a writer for the Colgate Athletic Website. Through all of this, however, it was his love of Philly sports that drove him to this career.
