Zac Rinaldo ejected for hit on Kris Letang, faces hearing
Battle of Pennsylvania got ugly
In the first period of Tuesday night's game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers, forward Zac Rinaldo was ejected following a questionable hit on defenceman Kris Letang.
The 24-year-old received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for the hit from behind on Letang. He was also penalized earlier in the game for cross-checking.
Letang stayed down on the ice, but was able to eventually skate off with a member of the training staff. He did not return to the game.
Rinaldo was recently charged with a game misconduct in Saturday's 4-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
He is considered a repeat offender. Last season, Rinaldo sat out for four games for an illegal hit to the head of Buffalo Sabres defenceman Chad Ruhwedel.
The Department of Player Safety responded fairly quickly, announcing that Rinaldo has been offered an in-person hearing. Given this information, he should expect to get at least six games for the hit.
Philadelphia's Zac Rinaldo has been offered an in-person hearing for boarding/charging on Pittsburgh's Kris Letang. Date and time TBD.
—@NHLPlayerSafetyIn the dressing room after the game, Rinaldo appeared to show very little remorse for the hit.
Zac Rinaldo, Re: injuring Kris Letang with bad hit during Flyers-Pens on Tuesday. Real nice. <a href="https://t.co/YlJLmoh7BL">https://t.co/YlJLmoh7BL</a> (via <a href="https://twitter.com/njdotcom">@njdotcom</a>)
—@PeteBlackburn