Tortorella expects more from Ristolainen: Everything 'needs to be better'

Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella isn't pleased with defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen's performances.

Ristolainen, the second-highest-paid blue-liner on Philadelphia's active roster, was a healthy scratch Saturday in the team's 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators.

"He just hasn't met (my expectations)," Tortorella said Monday. "I think he just needs to play better. ... I don't think he's played well enough. He's going to get another crack at it, but everything about his game, I think, needs to be better."

Tortorella added that he's yet to decide if the defenseman will return to the lineup Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues. Ristolainen practiced on the third pairing alongside Nick Seeler on Monday.

Ristolainen missed the first six games of the season with a lower-body injury, but Tortorella denied the notion that he's still being hampered by the ailment.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound blue-liner failed to register a point in four contests this season while averaging 17:20 per game. His 16.4% expected goals share is the worst in the league by over 10 percentage points among NHL skaters with at least 60 five-on-five minutes this season, per Natural Stat Trick.

Ristolainen, 28, is in the first season of a five-year, $25.5-million extension signed last March.

Copyright (C) 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.