Zac Rinaldo Got Thrown Out For This

Not the most memorable Saturday in Philly sports history, but not the end of the world, either. The Flyers lost a meaningless playoff preamble in Pittsburgh, the Phils offense stayed in the locker room a second straight day, and the Sixers… I didn't watch, but it appears as if they lost again too. Actually, I only saw the Flyers game in its entirety. The Phillies we caught over the radio with Franzke & LA with a backyard fire. So, I don't have a lot to say about either the Phils or the Sixers today. 
Here's a bit on the Flyers' finale, but admittedly not much. It had the action of a preseason game, and not much more meaning. The most interesting moment may have come in the first period, when Zac Rinaldo was given the gate for a check that toed the line between legality and a 2-minute minor. The Flyers had to withstand a 5-minute major and lost a forward who was scheduled for a heavier complement of ice time than usual. 
Watch below, see if you think it's worth a full misconduct—or if the refs were just trying to eliminate all possible threats to their peacekeeping mission. 

OK, so Rinaldo ran Zbynek Michalek there. But Michalek knew full well he wasn't alone going into the end boards, and he did nothing to protect himself or get out of the danger zone quickly. If anything, he turned into the boards. And, as the announcers pointed out, Rinaldo did pull up a bit, rather than barreling full-speed into him. He stopped striding and glided into the hit. No elbows, no sticks up, no head shots. Michalek didn't miss a single shift, and Rinaldo's day was over. 
Later, Jody Shelley would be given a phantom 10-minute misconduct, effectively ending his day as well. 
Both were plainly overreactions by the refs. But they'd pretty clearly been instructed not to let this game get out of hand, and hopefully to keep any potential injuries to a minimum. Their manner of doing so was to just take two of the most likely catalysts out of the equation. 
GAME NOTESThe Flyers made the decision to rest Claude Giroux, who may have a cold according to Lisa Hilary, and certainly didn't have much to play for with the standings locked. Danny Briere is still out indefinitely after taking a hit from Joe Vitale—something the coaches may have wanted to eliminate from Giroux's possible plight. Nick Grossmann seems to be progressing, but again, why rush him with rest days and only practice for a few days before the playoffs begin. 
Ilya Bryzgalov will be one of the biggest keys to the series ahead. Given that he's sporting a chip fracture, there was no need to play him either. After Bryz's March, which saw him named the Star of the Month, there is no confidence left to build. It could be argued he could benefit from some game action and sharpness after missing a few games, but it was tough to peg what kind of game this would be, and even Pittsburgh pulled MAF midway through it. 
The rough stuff came early, but didn't last, in part due to the very purposeful overstepping of bounds by the referees. For some reason, it was Harry Z who answered the call to throw down with Vitale, and uh… it didn't go well. 

Ragdoll'd… 
Not exactly sure what Harry was going for with that leg kick/canopener thing he was doing. Was it involuntary due to getting hit in the head? Some kind of matrix-like attempt at gaining leverage?
It looked like Jody Shelley and Steve MacIntyre were gonna go, but this fight pre-empted it. MacIntyre was called up for just such an occasion as Shelley trying to exact revenge from Vitale for his hits on Briere and Nick Grossmann. 
Oh well. 
Brayden Schenn and Jaromir Jagr scored for the Flyers, who lost 4-2. Crosby and Malkin each scored in a decisive second period. 
BRIGHT SIDESchenn played a helluva game, continuing his emergence as a top-flight NHL threat. This kid could be a major difference maker in the postseason. With Giroux out, Schenn really stepped up, with playmaking, offensive opportunities, and some nice hits. 
After Rinaldo got the gate, the Flyers killed off 5 minutes of Penguins power play time, and this was before the Pens began resting their stars. 
Just gotta laugh at this one sequence in the second period, when the game really started to slip into meaninglessness. Jagr was called for hooking after Kris Letang clamped his arm down on Jagr's stick, then dragged himself to the ice as Jags waved his free arm to signal that Letang was holding his stick. A little move we're gonna dub The Penguin Wing. Two minutes in the box for Mr. Jagr, and Crosby scores on the ensuing power play. It's laughable in game 82. We're breaking shit if it happens in the playoffs. 
Would it have been great if the Flyers had topped the Penguins? Absolutely. We'd be talking about how they set the tone for the playoff series, how Pittsburgh owned no home-ice advantage, and even a team without Danny, Claude, Nick, and Ilya was enough to win. 
Not surprisingly, it wasn't. Fortunately, after the first 20 or 30 minutes of the game, it felt nothing like meaningful hockey, so we're not worried about its outcome.