For Ristolainen, the big play was worth the wait

PITTSBURGH – Rasmus Ristolainen waited 820 games for this moment, so isn’t it justice when he winds up with the primary assist on the Flyers’ go-ahead goal on Saturday night?
Ristolainen got the puck to defense partner Travis Sanheim, who put a shot past Pittsburgh goalie Stuart Skinner to break a 1-1 tie and the Flyers were on their way to a 3-2 win on Saturday night at PPG Paints Arena.
“Just itching to play all day,” Ristolainen said after the game. “The warmup felt like a long time. Just get on the ice and start playing.”
Did he ever doubt this day would come?
“You can’t think that way,” he said. “It’s a team sport. I can’t control everything on my own. Just try to get better and keep working at it. I believed it would happen one day.”
The Flyers held the vaunted Penguin offense to just 17 shots. Ristolainen was a big part of that.
“I thought we played pretty good,” he said. “We earned the win.”
As for the wait, coach Rick Tocchet understood why Ristolainen wanted to get a taste of playoff hockey so badly.
“I talked to him this year, he’s sick and tired, he wants to play in the playoffs,” Tocchet said. “You could tell he wanted to be in the playoffs and he played that way.”
Added captain Sean Couturier: “I’m really happy for him. He’s put in the work the last couple years to battle through injuries. To come back, he brings a lot to our defense. Big, physical, righthanded defenseman. Tonight I thought he had an impact on the game with his physicality.”

>Young guys rewarded

Porter Martone had a goal, Denver Barkey had an assist and the young Flyers performed well in a tense environment.
“Even for the young guys, to play at this pace, the development is huge,” Tocchet said. “For them to get in this temperature in the playoffs, you fasttrack their development. It’s pace out there and these guys are getting it. I’m happy to see our young guys playing at this pace.
“I was a little nervous they might be nervous. We really tried to relax that atmosphere. I thought they did a really nice job the last couple days, just staying with it. Those kids were hootin’ and hollerin’ a little bit but I like they were even-keeled.”
A 19-year-old such as Martone, whose late goal wound up making the differnce, is an example of that.
“That’s maturity,” Tocchet said. “Some games you’re not going to have it. He was trying to figure the pace, he knew it. And then he gets the goal. It’s hard to find guys like that. In the playoffs you just have to stick with it because you could have that big moment.”
Martone has only been around a few weeks but he already sounds like a veteran.
“I’ve never seen an arena fully sold out,” he said. “I think we really built off the energy there. I really liked the start to our game.
“We just kind of kept it simple and played hard. Waited for our chances. Coming in here, I think the older guys did a great job with me and some of the younger guys on the team. I think we were all pretty excited going into this game.”
Barkey was modest when discussing his performance.
“Played big games before, the Memorial Cup finals OHL finals, games like that,” Barkey said. “Those games mean a lot, so a little of that experience before helps you stay calm, cool and collected.”