How Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway recorded 43 hits in a single night

Garnet Hathaway is now No. 4

The Flyers’ wrecking ball played only one game on Tuesday, but overnight he gained 43 hits, rocketing from No. 15 on the NHL charts with 123 to the top four with 166 hits.

“My brother texted me, and I think he said, ‘45 hits last night,’ ” Hathaway said Thursday with a laugh. “I didn’t know anything about it until he said that. I was just cooking dinner and ... it’s interesting. That’s the best I can say about it.”

On Wednesday, the league announced that it had conducted an audit on hits recorded this season “as part of the ongoing effort to provide the most accurate statistical accounting possible of NHL games.”

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The audit went through every game and added hits when appropriate. Every rink has NHL staff that tabulates statistics, so human error is always possible.

And there is no blame being laid because, as Hathaway noted, “there’s real people watching the game, which is the fastest game there is, and trying to make a quick read on a judgment call that’s pretty subjective.”

According to the Athletic, Hathaway went from three to seven hits against the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 1 and from two to seven on Dec. 19 against the New Jersey Devils.

“He’s always looking to finish checks and create some forechecking for us, that’s his game. That’s why we wanted him,” coach John Tortorella said. “We wanted a guy that’s going to go straight ahead. He’s going be in the blue paint. He’s going to be a pain in the [butt] in the areas of the ice and I think he’s done that.

“I’m hoping that it translates to more scoring chances for him, that’s what’s been a little disappointing for me. Not to his lack of effort. I’d like to see him [get] involved in more of the offense, too, because of the way he plays and hopefully that’ll come here in the last third” of the season.

A key cog in the Flyers’ penalty kill, Hathaway has six points (four goals, two assists) in 51 games this season. Although he’s not getting on the score sheet in the traditional sense, he is doing yeoman’s work. Hathaway is seventh in the league with 72 penalty minutes, but is second in penalty minutes drawn with 30. (No. 1 is Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk.)

An agitator who can knock guys off their game, Hathaway is drawing .94 more penalties per 60 than taking, according to NHL stats. Yes, the Flyers’ power play is still mired near the bottom of the league (No. 31 at 13.2%), but any time with the man advantage is a plus as it keeps the opposition at bay.

“It’s a big part of my game. I don’t think it necessarily says how I’m playing,” Hathaway said. “You try to create that physical contact, whether it’s separating the guy from the puck or trying to make a guy make a play a little faster the next time he gets the puck.

“So, [that’s] one of the things that I’ve looked at this year. It seemed some games were not accurate, and I talked to a few guys around the league too, who thought the same. And now that they went back and I guess watched all the games all over again — definitely makes for a lot of work, but a more accurate job.”

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Olle Lycksell was not at the team’s morning skate on Thursday. He is still listed on the official team roster. ... Sam Ersson was to start his sixth straight game when the Flyers host the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. ... The Jets will be without defenseman Brenden Dillon, who was suspended Wednesday for three games because of a check to the head of Pittsburgh Penguins forward Noel Acciari on Tuesday. ... The Flyers were to avoid All-Star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, as Laurent Brossoit is expected to start for Winnipeg.