Giroux, Flyers try to snap out of funk
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Giroux, Flyers try to snap out of funk
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
The new captain, Claude Giroux, is in a rut.
The smooth-skating center has no goals and just two points over his last five games, and he has seemed out of sync recently.
Not too coincidentally, the Flyers are off to a 2-5 start.
Someone asked coached Peter Laviolette Thursday if the Flyers’ situation was as simple as this: When Giroux gets untracked, so will the team.
“I think everybody’s got to get going in the right direction,” said Laviolette, whose Flyers play the sagging Capitals (1-5-1) at the Verizon Center on Friday night. “Certainly Claude is one of those players that can change a game, but if it’s just Claude who shows up in Washington, we’re going to be in big trouble. Everybody’s got to play a little better.”
Giroux, 25, who had a neck injury while playing in Germany during the lockout, says he is 100 percent healthy.
“Obviously, I am not happy with my game. But like I said, it's only seven games and it's a long season, so I am staying positive and things are going to turn around pretty quick,” he said.
On Friday, Giroux will have Danny Briere as one of his new linemates. The two were dominating when they played together in Germany.
“So I know where he is on the ice and I know what kind of player he is,” said Giroux, who used to live with Briere and his children in Haddonfield. “So we can feed off each other.”
The Flyers and Caps are a combined 3-10-1.
“Obviously they are going to be desperate like us,” Giroux said. “But we can't figure on them (being pushovers). We have got to figure out the way we play on the ice and we just want to get better. Obviously, the two points are huge, but at the end of the day, we have to make sure we get better as a team and not get ready for just one game.”
After playing the Capitals, the Flyers have four straight home games, facing Carolina, Tampa Bay, Florida and Carolina again.
Breakaways. The Flyers are 1-4 on the road…..If fatigue is a factor, the Flyers should have the advantage. While the Flyers were off on Thursday, Washington dropped a 3-2 decision in Toronto, where the Caps were shorthanded for 12:11 of the first 40 minutes....In seven games, Washington's Alex Ovechkin (minus-3) has two goals and one assist, while Giroux (plus-1) has two goals and two assists....Caps defenseman Mike Green is averaging 27:11 per game, placing him sixth in the NHL.
Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.
The Philadelphia Season of Our Discontent continues with the Flyers. Phillies miss the playoffs for the first time in 5 years. The Eagles stink up the joint this season. Sixers wallow in obscurity remaining relevant only beccause they are fleeced in the Andrew Bynum deal. And the much anticipated return of the NHL and Flyers is tempered by the fact that the Flyers are not that good of a team and might be hard-pressed to make the playoffs in a league where 50% of the teams make the playoffs. The irony here is that the Goaltender is playing well.— rockinrob- Here is my concern with Giroux..its not the lack of goals or assists...its the lack of hustle...he is invisible most games and a couple of goals have been caused due to his loafing back into the defensive zone...all good scorers go thru slumps but this kid for some reason is showing no desire on the ice— flyers1000
- Totally agree flyers1000. He does not look right. I hope there is no lingering problems from his neck injury from the German league.— flyerfran
- It's the Flyer Captain curse. Lindros, Primeau, Richards, Pronger... They should have left G alone.— Horse
- Giroux will be fine. He needs to step it up and he will.— Nitroglycerin
- "The two were dominating when they played together in Germany." This ist not correct. They played in difference lines, because it didn't work together.
— DD-Flyers - Stinkubus, too many sophomores and too many slumps.— TrollXterminator
- Attention all coaches and fans...be on the lookout for a player with the number 28. He was last seen wearing an organge and white hockey jersey, black skates, with reddish/orange hair, and brandishing a stick as he was impersonating a hockey player.— masterncommander
- The best thing that ever happened to Mike Richards was not getting traded from the Flyers. It was having the "C" taken off of his chest. Then he could go back to just being a player and worrying about his own game.
Giroux is not ready to be team captain. The weight of it is dragging him down. Unfortunately, the Flyers don't have anybody on the roster who fills the role of team captain. They are a team of too many Indians and not enough Chiefs.
— TexColorado - Gotta win 4 of the next 5, or it may be time to send Laviolette packing...
Giroux says," it's a long season" but it's getting short quickly.— Nicher - The sky is falling on Flyers fans...abandon ship!— jbandit2116
- TexColorado, Since you are making argument about C and how much it influenced M.Richard. Richards scored 44 pts in 76 games last season. He played without that C on his chest.
— Nitroglycerin - A team of sophomores needs time to gel - check back later in the season or even next year - the only thing to worry about is if management panics - keep the core group together add pieces through the draft and free agency - we are four veteran players away from dominance. Knuble and Rusty are place holders up front and two defensemen on the blue line. Snider has never been patient and that's the biggest reason for no cup.
— JourneyHome - i don't ecognize the G on ice right now. he is getting humiliated in the face off circle (in the lightning game he was 1 for his first 12). the only time he wins a face off is when the other team is up and playing more defensively. i watch him complain to the refs all day long and never thought of him as much of a whinner before.
for the curse believers how about the double whammy; video game cover and the C! i think he's being a baby and needs to put on his big boy pants.— panamajim2 - I'd rather see Kimmo Timonen be captain for this year and go from there, but the Flyers see G as their star and have to ride him to the bank. While I do agree that G and others need to pick up their game, I am not quick to forget that G has lost both of his line mates from last season. Both of those line mates brought qualities that are indispensable and not being replaced whatsoever. It takes time to adjust. Also, the PP is atrocious, so when that picks up, the points will come. G led league in PP assists last year if I'm not mistaken.— Lucky Luciano
