Philadelphia Flyers rookie Zac Rinaldo has made quite a name for himself this season.
With noteworthy names like Drew Doughty (see here) and Adam Larsson (see here) already on his knockout list, the 21-year-old has emerged as a dangerous open-ice hitter -- something Columbus’ Aaron Johnson found out the hard way during last night’s 9-2 loss.
Rinaldo caught Johnson with a blindside hit, one that looked as though Johnson’s head was the principal point of contact.
Today, Sportsnet’s John Shannon reported that Rinaldo won’t face any supplemental discipline for the hit. Rinaldo received a two-minute charging penalty on the play (Shannon tweeted that “feeling was call on the ice was enough”) while Johnson returned to play almost six minutes in the third period, factors which may have been taken into account.
That said, the game was a complete blowout at the time (8-0) and Rinaldo does have something of a reputation, so it’s curious the hit wasn’t at least subjected for review or one of Shanny’s “let me explain why I didn’t punish this hit” videos.