Giroux, Voracek battle scoring slump

All-stars Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek, linemates who are among the NHL's leading scorers, are slumping at the worst possible time - with the Flyers trying to gain ground in the playoff race.

Voracek has not scored a goal in 14 games, excluding an empty-netter, and Giroux has not scored in nine games.

Giroux said the line has been pressing.

"I think we want to do a lot of things, and we're trying to do a little too much," he said Wednesday after practice in Voorhees. "We just need to play the game.

"We're not playing bad right now," added Giroux, who has yet to score a five-on-five goal at home this season. "It's just not going in."

The Flyers host the NHL's worst team, Buffalo, on Thursday. "Every game for the rest of the season is a must-win," Giroux said.

In Tuesday's critical 5-2 loss to Columbus, Giroux's line was much more effective after coach Craig Berube put hardworking Michael Raffl at left wing and moved Brayden Schenn to center on the third line at the start of the second period.

"He's physical and strong on the battles," Voracek said of Raffl. "He opens up the space. He knows exactly what to do when he plays with us, and he got us going [Tuesday]. I'm not saying it was Schenner's fault, but we didn't play well enough together, and I think Brayden got going as well after" the change.

Having Raffl on the top line is "going to make Voracek and Giroux shoot the puck more," Berube said.

Berube said he has thought about putting Giroux and Voracek on different lines to get them going, but he decided against it because the team had been on a roll.

"We were doing well, so it's tough to split them up when things are going like that," Berube said. "But it does cross your mind."

"We have to find a way to produce . . . but as a team, we've played well over the last 10 games, which is important," said Voracek, whose team is 6-1-3 in that span.

Raffl played on Giroux's line earlier this season before being sidelined for three-plus weeks with pneumonia. Tuesday was his second game since his return.

"It felt good to be back there with them, to be honest," said Raffl, who had four of his five shots after going on the top line Tuesday. "I think we created a lot of chances, but we just couldn't find the net."