Mez appears in; Rinaldo says Flyers owe G

With his team facing elimination, it appears defenseman Andrej Meszaros will return to the Flyers' lineup Tuesday night against visiting New Jersey.

Meszaros hasn't played since March 1. He had back surgery on March 21.

The Flyers will be without the suspended star Claude Giroux, who leads the NHL with 17 playoff points.

"G's been our best player all year. We owe him one," winger Zac Rinaldo said. "This one is for him."

With Giroux out of the lineup, Rinaldo is expected to make his series debut.

Giroux said he was surprised by the one-game suspension, "but it is what it is," he said.

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After practice, defenseman Kimmo Timonen wore a shirt that said, "Play Angry."

Said coach Peter Laviolette: "I don't think we're going to hang Kimmo's shirt behind the bench and rally behind that."

But they will try to rally around Giroux's absence.

Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.