Bruins' Rinaldo will reunite with Flyers

The Flyers will face old pal Zac Rinaldo on Wednesday in Boston, and, yes, they expect the 25-year-old winger to be his feisty self.

"I'm sure he's going to be excited to play his old team," Flyers defenseman Nick Schultz said. "His game is high energy and being physical and bumping guys, so playing his old team, I'm sure he's going to be jacked up and ready to play."

In the summer, the Flyers dealt Rinaldo to the Bruins for a third-round pick in the 2017 draft. In five games with the Bruins, he has no points, 10 penalty minutes, and is third on the team with 15 hits.

"You have to be aware of where [he is]," Schultz said. "He's obviously one of the best hitters in the game. He just picks his spots and he's explosive. He finishes checks and plays hard, so you have to be ready when he's on the ice."

"We all know what Reno can do and what he can bring to a game," said Flyers winger Ryan White, who sometimes played on Rinaldo's line last season. "So just keep him from playing his game."

In 223 career games with the Flyers, Rinaldo had eight goals, 24 points, 572 penalty minutes, and three suspensions totaling 14 games. He was fined twice. Rinaldo was suspended for eight games last season for charging and boarding Pittsburgh's Kris Letang.

Rinaldo told the Boston Globe he's a "little more mature in the sense of when to ease up on some hits, when to fight, when not to fight. I've matured a lot over the year and experienced a lot."

Last season, Rinaldo led the Flyers with 209 hits.

The Flyers' Dave Hakstol and Dallas' Lindy Ruff coached against each other for the first time Tuesday. They are both from Warburg, Alberta (population: 789), a town in Western Canada.

"We're a coaching hotbed," Ruff cracked before the game.

With Steve Mason starting Tuesday against Dallas, Michal Neuvirth figures to get the call in Boston. Neuvirth has had consecutive shutouts and owns a 132-minute, 5-second scoreless streak. . . . The Flyers are playing the first of 14 sets of back-to-back games this season. . . . Dallas' Patrick Sharp, who won three Cups with Chicago, on getting traded from the Flyers to the Blackhawks for Matt Ellison in 2005: "Probably the best thing that could have happened to me."