Ristolainen on COVID battle: 'It's going to make me tougher'

Rasmus Ristolainen was playing some of the best hockey of his career before a serious bout with COVID-19 brought his season to an unexpected pause.
The defenseman had paired with Jake McCabe to form one of the NHL's top statistical pairs despite seeing nightly doses of opponents' top lines. His presence at the net-front had helped jolt the Sabres power play and his conditioning was at its usual top form, having exceeded 26 minutes on back-to-back days against the Devils before coming down with the virus.
"The time that it came was probably the worst time ever," Ristolainen said Thursday. "I was feeling pretty good, probably playing [some] of the better hockey I've played here since coming to Buffalo.
"So, it's even more tough. But all of those things, the way I think about it, it's just a bump in the road and it's gonna make me tougher and better."

Ristolainen was back on the ice for Buffalo's morning skate on Thursday, his first full skate with the team since Feb. 1. He was among the first of eight Sabres players who eventually tested positive for COVID-19, the rest of whom have since returned to the lineup.
Ristolainen will not play against the Devils on Thursday but felt following the skate that he was trending in the right direction.
"Talking to people who had COVID in the past, I heard it takes some time to get back [to] 100 percent," he said. "The shape I was in playing back-to-back games against New Jersey, 26, 27 minutes and I didn't even feel tired - yeah, I'm not there, but right now I feel I'm really close and I feel really good."
Ristolainen detailed his arduous experience with the virus last week in a conversation with Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat, describing symptoms that included frightening chest pains and fatigue. At times when he felt he was out of the woods, symptoms returned and hit him harder.
He was finally activated from the COVID-related absence list on Feb 16. He said he had been working out and skating for six days prior to joining the team for its morning skate Thursday.
The Sabres have been cautious with Ristolainen's re-entry, shying away from setting a firm timetable on his return.
"With Risto, we're going to take our time," coach Ralph Krueger said last Thursday. "You can see the writing on the wall, that he needs more space to get his energy level up. Everyone one of us that had COVID has a different pathway back."