Philadelphia Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo has one goal and one assist in 44 games, but could his return to the lineup be the spark the team has been missing?
Rinaldo last played Jan. 8, when he sustained a sprained ankle. In the three weeks he's missed, the Flyers went 3-5-2. He'll be back in the lineup Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks, likely playing on the fourth line.
The Flyers originally thought Rinaldo would be out more than a month.
"Six weeks definitely wasn't for me, so I cut it in half," he said.
With four games in the next seven days, the Ducks will turn to Frederik Andersen in goal Thursday. It will be the rookie's first start since Jan. 18.
Here are the projected lineups:
FLYERS
Scott Hartnell - Claude Giroux - Jakub Voracek
Vincent Lecavalier - Brayden Schenn - Wayne Simmonds
Matt Read - Sean Couturier - Steve Downie
Adam Hall - Michael Raffl - Zac Rinaldo
Kimmo Timonen - Braydon Coburn
Mark Streit - Nicklas Grossmann
Scratched: Andrej Meszaros, Hal Gill, Jay Rosehill
DUCKS
Dustin Penner - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry
Patrick Maroon - Mathieu Perreault - Teemu Selanne
Daniel Winnik - Saku Koivu - Andrew Cogliano
Matt Beleskey - Nick Bonino - Kyle Palmieri
Hampus Lindholm - Francois Beauchemin
Scratched: Jakob Silfverberg, Bryan Allen, Tim Jackman
Injured: Sheldon Souray (wrist), Viktor Fasth (lower body)