Zac Rinaldo is a beast
Zac Rinaldo has played 4 less games than his Flyers teammates - having been shipped to Adirondack for a brief stint - but is ranked 5th on the team in hits with 15.
The number is particularly impressive considering Rinaldo's 5:54 average ice time is less than any other player on the team. Meaning, Rinaldo - who is just 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds - has tried to do anything he can to make an impression on coach Peter Laviolette.
He's also among the league leaders among hits per 60 minutes of ice time.
Kudos to TSN's Scott Cullen for the research.
RANK PLAYER TEAM POS. HITS/60
1. Paul Bissonnette Phoenix LW 27.92
2. Zac Rinaldo Philadelphia LW 25.54
3. Kris Newbury N.Y. Rangers C 23.88
4. Cam Janssen New Jersey RW 23.13
5. Matt Martin N.Y. Islanders LW 22.57
6. Chris Porter St. Louis LW 22.46
7. Mark Fistric Dallas D 20.39
8. Cody McLeod Colorado LW 19.57
9. Derek MacKenzie Columbus C 19.31
10. Troy Brouwer Washington RW 18.67
11. Michael Rupp N.Y. Rangers LW 18.42
12. Dan Carcillo Chicago LW 17.91
13. Aaron Volpatti Vancouver LW 17.89
14. Brad Staubitz Minnesota RW 17.17
15. Colton Gillies Minnesota C 16.91
* - Minimum 5 games played.
Rinaldo was back in the Flyers' lineup on Thursday night against Winnipeg, just hours after being re-called, skating with Max Talbot and Jody Shelley in place of healthy scratch Andreas Nodl.
BOUCHER STARTS: According to the Raleigh News & Observer, Brian Boucher will start tonight against his former team, as expected, at the Wells Fargo Center.
We caught up with Boucher last week for today's SportsWeek, getting his thoughts on what was a rather successful second stint with the Flyers over the past two years.
WANT TO WIN FLYERS TIX? Speaking of SportsWeek, head out to your local retailer - wherever newspapers are sold - to buy a copy. It features a cardboard cut-out image of Ilya Bryzgalov's helmet on our Power Page.
Send a picture of yourself or your kids wearing the cut-out Bryzgalov mask featured on the PECO Power Page in SportsWeek to letters@phillysportsweek.com.
We'll randomly choose a winner to receive a pair of tickets to an upcoming game. Go to the contest page on philly.com for complete rules: here.
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers