PHILADELPHIA — Zac Rinaldo knows he won't see much playing time in a playoff series. His goal is still to have more ice time than penalty minutes. Considering how this series has gone with the New York Rangers so far, that's no easy feat.

"I think I'm being a little too careful out there," said Rinaldo, fresh off a four-game suspension to end the regular season. "I may need to change that. I only play four or six minutes, I don't want to go out there and take a penalty in those four or six minutes. I play a fine line. It's even more fine now that we're in the playoffs."

Between the Flyers and Rangers, there have been 33 minor penalties called so far in three games. Albeit the Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets have played one more game, they've shared 42 in their series.

Who'd have thought that the Flyers and Rangers wouldn't be the most-penalized series in the conference when officials are making calls like they get paid on commission?

The whistle seems to be blowing quite a bit more this year than in playoffs past.

"It's crazy," Rinaldo said. "To me, that's not playoff hockey, but it is what it is. You've just got to watch out now."

Perhaps a side effect of all the calls, there haven't been many bone-rattling hits between the Flyers and Rangers. The two teams that have been division rivals for decades are playing a bit more polite than one might expect.

"You see guys going to throw hits and guys being penalized for calls that shouldn't be called," Wayne Simmonds said. "It's a tough game. It goes fast. The refs only have a fraction of a second to call penalties. That's tough."

Even if they're duped, apparently.

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