As the seconds ticked away on the Philadelphia Flyers game Tuesday night, their captain Claude Giroux allowed himself a moment to smile and reflect. Back in October, Giroux and the Flyers stumbled out of the gate, losing seven of their first eight games costing coach Peter Laviolette his job along the way.
Assistant coach Craig Berube took the reins after game three and vowed to make the most of his debut as an NHL coach. Amid the storm of failure and discontent, Giroux was off to the most miserable goal drought of his young career. It wasn’t until his 16th game that the prolific young playmaker found the net for his first goal of the 2013-14 campaign. While he made this bold announcement:
“When you have the record we have right now, you’re a little frustrated and you try to figure out what’s going on but everybody came to the rink and we know there’s a lot of hockey left to play here. We’re not far at all. How many points are we off, six? To think that with the start we had, we’re that close. We’ve never thought that we’re not going to make the playoffs.
“We’ll take it here game-by-game and we will make the playoffs.”
To think that this statement was made as Philadelphia had just fallen to 1-7 with the worst record in the NHL, borders on foolhardy. It’s general lip service that fans want to hear from their leader on the ice. Everyone in the locker room will spew forth the token clichés and nauseating positivity when times are tough, but how many actually believe it?
In the waning moments of Philadelphia’s playoff clinching 5-2 win over Florida; you have to wonder if Giroux was thinking about that exact statement. How cool must it have felt to know that you put yourself out there to either put up or shut up, especially in a city with a notoriously keen memory?
So the question is now, how much do the Flyers have left in the tank? Expending all of their energy just to get to the postseason dance can be taxing in a grinding, 82-game season. The Flyers finished up the month of March with a 9-3-2 record, and their captain led the way with six goals and 15 assists. He played a huge role in Tuesday night’s clincher with two more goals to close the deal.
After missing out on the playoffs in last year’s shortened season, the Flyers return with a matchup against the New York Rangers. Giroux is hoping to resume his tremendous playoff success, while washing away the memories of how the 2012 playoffs ended for Philadelphia.
The eventual Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils eliminated the Flyers while Giroux could only watch from the press box, serving a one-game suspension for an illegal hit on Dainius Zubrus in Game 4. All of the momentum gained from the huge first round win over the hated Pittsburgh Penguins seemed to disappear against the Devils. With all of the emotion expended against their hated in-state rivals, the Flyers seemed to be a step behind in the five game series.
Two years later and two years wiser, the now-captain of the Flyers can appreciate the significance of a Philadelphia return to the postseason. The work put in just to overcome the horrendous start both as a team and individually is a true testament to Giroux’s maturity as a player and development as the Philly captain. After being left off the Canadian Olympic roster it would have been easy to pout and sulk (like his owner did), instead Giroux made the most of his time and recharged himself for the postseason push.
One of the biggest surprises this season has been the strength of the goaltending in Philadelphia. After buying out Ilya Bryzgalov over the summer, the Flyers put their faith in Ray Emery as a free agent signing and Steve Mason who was acquired late in the 2013 season. Both have been solid all year, and will need to continue that play when the playoffs begin.
As Giroux’s climb up the statistical table and eventually the scoring leaders became more noticeable, so did the play of Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek and Scott Hartnell. As the primary facilitator on the NHL’s tenth ranked power play, Giroux jump started the rest of the offense and has served as a mentor for the youngsters on the Flyer’s third and fourth lines. With seven players over the 20-goal mark, Philadelphia can count on production from all four lines.
It’s rather ironic that their first round opponent will be a team that also falls under the category of disappointing for their own set of early season struggles. The series between the two rivals promises to be a long, hard-hitting series that will push each side to the limit. With the possibility of a playoff re-acquaintance with old pal Sidney Crosby potentially out there, it’s hard to imagine a more motivated bunch than Claude Giroux and the Philadelphia Flyers.
It all starts and ends with the 26-year old captain who looks like he is having the time of his life playing this season. The terrible start, the Olympic snub and the coaching change could all have derailed Giroux’s, and ultimately the Flyers’ season. Instead, they will begin their quest for Stanley Cup glory next week. With the spark that the captain provides at both ends of the ice, the Flyers have to be taken seriously in the Eastern Conference.