Flyers Defense Takes a Hit: Rasmus Ristolainen Exits Loss to Hurricanes

The Philadelphia Flyers are having the kind of week that makes you want to simulate to the end of the season. To make matters worse, defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen left Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes with an undisclosed injury.

The NHL loves to classify everything as an "undisclosed" issue, a league-wide tradition that means a player could have a bruised ego or a severed limb. However, the early reporting breadcrumbs strongly point toward a left hand injury for the veteran blueliner.

This is brutal timing for a Philadelphia squad that is currently in freefall. They just got absolutely dismantled 7-0 by Pittsburgh earlier in the week, dropped a 3-2 game to New Jersey, and couldn't close the gap against Carolina.

Ristolainen is a massive human who eats up defensive minutes and hits everything wearing a different colored sweater. When you pull a guy like that out of the lineup, the defensive rotation gets thin fast. That usually translates to more high-danger scoring chances for the opposition, something the betting markets will absolutely bake into the totals for upcoming Flyers games.

Philadelphia has to pack up and head south to face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night. If Ristolainen is officially ruled out, expect the Flyers' blue line to be under siege, making Tampa's top six a very appealing spot for offensive production.