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Flyers Notes: Hartnell back in for Blue Jackets one night after benching

Columbus head coach John Tortorella said he did not have to say a word to Scott Hartnell after he benched the former Flyers winger on Friday night.

Columbus head coach John Tortorella said he did not have to say a word to Scott Hartnell after he benched the former Flyers winger on Friday night.

Tortorella posted the Blue Jackets lineup sheet on the wall of their Wells Fargo Center dressing room before Saturday's game against the Flyers. Hartnell was back in. The coach's message was delivered.

"He was pissed that he sat out," Tortorella said. "When I first came here, he was our most effective player. With his personality, with his work habit, everything about him was the way that we wanted to play. That dropped off. No athlete wants to be sat out. But, I hope he answers the right way."

Hartnell spent seven seasons with the Flyers before being dealt to Columbus for a draft pick and R.J. Umberger, who returned to the Flyers' lineup on Saturday night. Hartnell, 33, scored 28 goals last season, but his production has fallen off in his second year with the Blue Jackets. He entered Saturday with two points in his last eight games.

The Flyers activated Umberger and Ryan White from injured reserve before Saturday's game, forcing them to send Nick Cousins and Colin McDonald to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Umberger had been sidelined since suffering a foot injury on Nov. 7. White had been out since mid-November with an upper-body injury. The Flyers were 4-0 when playing with the line of Scott Laughton, Cousins, and McDonald. Umberger and White paired with Laughton on Saturday.

"They're ready to come back in the lineup, so that's when they come in," coach Dave Hakstol said. "That comes with responsibility. They're both veterans. They know what it takes to come back in the lineup and provide good play and provide a spark to their team."