Giroux plays for Flyers, after all

NEW YORK - It was 5 o'clock and like most commuters inside a crowded Penn Station, Claude Giroux was getting antsy.

He was wearing a walking boot on his left foot, a game-day suit and tie, and a beanie on his head to remain as covert as possible.

Giroux was panicking a little, under the impression that his pregame routine was in flames with a 7 o'clock puck drop. He could thank the executives at NBCSN for the extra hour because of the "Wednesday Night Rivalry" national telecast.

In a span of about 36 hours, Giroux went from being examined by doctors, to "fine," to declared out for two games, to a last-minute train ride to Manhattan.

"He's a good healer," coach Craig Berube quipped.

Miraculously, Giroux was back in the lineup last night, keeping his streak of 198 games healthy intact. Flyers general manager Ron Hextall smiled and said he was "as surprised as you guys" the team needed to do an about-face on their injury report.

"Claude saw a specialist [yesterday] morning and we got good information," Hextall explained. "He came over to Skate Zone and skated by himself briefly and he felt like he wanted to take a shot at playing. Our doctors said he could play if he could handle the pain."

Hextall said the Flyers had no interest in playing their $10 million center if "there was risk of reinjuring himself."

"There's always risks with the injury," Hextall said. "But our medical staff said he was fine to play if he could handle the pain. I give Claude credit. He's a tough kid. I didn't think [Tuesday] night - and he didn't think - he had a chance of playing."

Hextall was significantly more calm in his availability with reporters yesterday, saying he was flustered on Tuesday in Toronto when announcing Giroux's injury because he is "not trying to give [the media] any details, so when I explain things, it might not always make sense."

No one questioned the fact that Giroux was indeed injured. The situation was shrouded in mystery for the way it was presented, the Flyers' terse responses, and the fact that Giroux appeared to be unscathed in practice on Monday, when Hextall said the injury occurred.

"We're not going to give [specific] information out," Hextall said. "We want to protect our players. What does it matter? I'll be as forthright as I can. We're not going to expose our players. I'll do my best to give a timeline, but there's points where I feel like I shouldn't give a timeline because then it looks like I was being not forthright or whatever.

"Am I always going to be right? Are our doctors always going to be right? No. There's always going to be issues that arise and get better and issues that arise and get worse."

Ron Hextall's directive to coach Craig Berube was to "put the best team on the ice" last night at Madison Square Garden. Even with Claude Giroux available, that apparently included first-round pick Scott Laughton, who was called up Tuesday because of Giroux's uncertainty.

Laughton, 20, replaced Jason Akeson in the lineup for his first NHL appearance since Jan. 21, 2013.

"Every time you think a player is going to be out of your lineup, you take a look," Hextall said pregame. "Who's playing the best recently? Who's going to play with certain players? I'm not going to not put the best team on the ice. Right now, he's the player that's the best fit."

Hextall said earlier in the month if he was going to call on Laughton to play, he wanted his top offensive prospect to play a significant role and "more than 10 minutes a night." Exactly the opposite happened, with Laughton - the Phantoms' leading scorer - centering the fourth line of Zac Rinaldo and Chris VandeVelde.

Laughton saw just 7 minutes of ice time.

"I thought I played a couple good games [to start the season with the Phantoms]," Laughton said. "I've felt pretty good for the most part. I'm really, really honored to be called up. I'm not worrying about myself, I'm trying to help this team win. We'll see where it goes."

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