Giroux knows you gotta have Hart

JAROMIR JAGR is gone. But Claude Giroux cannot deny that he is a different player depending on whether Scott Hartnell is skating next to him.

"My job's a lot easier," Giroux said of playing with Hartnell. "He's got that attitude that he's going to win that battle. Whatever you're trying to do, he's going to win. When he wins battles, it's so much easier for us to play."

Since Hartnell rejoined the Flyers' lineup last Saturday after missing 16 games with a fractured toe, Giroux has returned to playing like the Hart Trophy contender many pegged him to be.

Giroux's statistics back that up. Giroux has eight points in his six full games playing with Hartnell this season (1.33 points per game) and 14 points in his 16 games without him (.88 points per game).

If that's too small of a sample size for you, including last year's numbers provides further support. The two did not play together for the first seven games of last season before Peter Laviolette united them with Jagr. Over the roughly 85 games that have followed, including playoffs, Giroux has netted 110 points (1.3 points per game) with Hartnell. Without Hartnell, Giroux has 22 points in 23 games (.96 points per game).

Why is that? Hartnell is one of the few Flyers who can consistently retrieve the puck for Giroux in the corners and then also provide a steady net presence to distract the goaltender.

"In the first few games before he hurt his foot, I thought [Hartnell] was one of our most noticeable, physical guys," Laviolette said Thursday. "Even when he came back, he was banging bodies. I think when you see guys banging bodies - and you see where it leads to as a success point on the ice - it's a little bit contagious. Claude starts banging bodies. If Claude's banging bodies, then, well, everyone is banging bodies."

In an effort to create "roster flexibility," the Flyers waived forward Tom Sestito and goaltender Michael Leighton on Thursday. All 29 other teams have until Friday at noon to stake a claim.

Sestito, 25, is unlikely to make it through waivers - a consequence the Flyers feared. Sestito's agent, Scott Norton, told the Daily News a handful of teams inquired about him. A source says the Oilers are one of the more interested teams. The waiver order is the reverse of league standings.

Sestito singlehandedly delivered a 2-1 win over Tampa Bay on Feb. 5 by scoring both goals. He had been a healthy scratch before suffering a severe charley horse in a conditioning assignment with the Phantoms last Friday in Philadelphia, but has been cleared to play. His combination of size, grit and hands make him a valuable commodity for teams.

Leighton, 31, was waived for at least the 10th time in his NHL career. He has sat out since Feb. 8 with a right ring-finger injury, which was supposed to take only 7 to 10 days to heal. Leighton's waiving seemingly signifies that Brian Boucher will remain as Ilya Bryzgalov's permanent backup. Leighton allowed five goals in his only start of the season. Boucher, 36, has a 2.48 goals against-average and .898 save percentage in 121 minutes played.

The NHL rescinded the major penalty assessed to Harry Zolnierczyk for his hit on Mathieu Perreault with under 30 seconds to play Wednesday. He was tossed from the game for a "kneeing" penalty, though he connected with Perreault's thigh . . . Eric Lindros turned 40 on Wednesday . . . The Flyers will hold their first full, on-ice practice since Feb. 14 on Friday. Scott Hartnell, Zac Rinaldo and Zolnierczyk skated in Thursday's optional practice with scratches Mike Knuble, Kurtis Foster, Sestito, Leighton, Boucher and the injured Matt Read . . . With Erik Gustafsson suffering from a groin injury, Kurtis Foster could play Saturday against Ottawa. Foster has been scratched for seven straight games.

"There's definitely some similarities. You are not in the position you want. You have to fight for something. There's something to be said for struggles. It builds strength. We've had struggles and continued to build and continued to grow and continue to move up the standings. There's something to be said for that as long as you make it."

- Peter Laviolette, when asked to compare this year's situation to the 2009-10 season when he took over for John Stevens, the Flyers battled to make the playoffs as a seventh seed on the last day of the regular season and went on to the Stanley Cup finals.