October 22, 2015
For emphasis, Dave Hakstol said it twice:
Dave Hakstol on Rinaldo hit: "I’m not gonna comment on that hit at all. There’s no place for it. That’s all I have to say. No place for it."
— Dave Isaac (@davegisaac) October 22, 2015
Zac Rinaldo almost made it one period against his old team without doing something dumb, but he couldn’t help himself. Just as the first-period horn was about to sound, the 25-year-old #FormerFlyer did this to Sean Couturier (GIF via @myregularface):
let's try this again with the GIF attached. another look at the Rinaldo hit. 5 minute major for charging pic.twitter.com/rxpWBMcj7D
— Stephanie (@myregularface) October 22, 2015
Couturier didn’t return to the game. For that one decision, Rinaldo received a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct. Afterward, he did show some remorse. From CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty:
“It’s unfortunate that [Couturier] is hurt,” Rinaldo said. “That’s the last thing that I want to do is to hurt someone. During the game [throwing a borderline hit] is not my first priority at all… Especially someone that I know personally.”
Obviously, the Flyers don’t care much for any apologies. Here is what Steve Mason was quoted as saying in Haggerty’s article:
“It’s tough seeing Coots [Sean Couturier] go down like that,” said Flyers goaltender Steve Mason. “I don’t want to comment on the hit. We didn’t like it obviously, and we’ll leave it at that. We didn’t like the hit at all.”
It initially seemed like the question would be not if, but how long Rinaldo will get suspended. On NBC Sports Network’s post-game show, there was a bit of debate on whether a suspension would actually come down (and all of those guys know more than me, with the possible exception of Mike Milbury). Pierre McGuire said the hit was “uncalled for.”
Regardless, the Flyers won the game in overtime on an absolute laser by Claude Giroux on the power play. And remember that Ron Hextall got a third-round pick from Boston in return for Rinaldo this past offseason, which is even more incredible than the Flyers' comeback last night.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
