Will Giroux be suspended?
Devils 4, Flyers 2
Will Giroux be suspended?
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
NEWARK, N.J. -- Claude Giroux has become the Flyers’ leader, and no one questions it. He is them and they are him and that is that, at least for now.
When Giroux is the best player on the ice, they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs. When he is quiet, they lose two straight games and fall behind the New Jersey Devils in the second round.
When he assists on a power play goal and persists on a shorthanded goal in the first period on Sunday night, the Flyers remain alive in a game in which they should be dead. Eventually, they were dead, by a final score of 4-2. They now trail the Devils by three games to one in the series.
But the issue has become even bigger than that, and more worrisome. Because he is them and they are him, and now there is a chance the Flyers will be without Giroux for Game 5 of the series after he was penalized at 19:56 of the second period for a head shot delivered with his shoulder against the Devils’ Dainius Zubrus.
To attempt to predict what Brendan Shanahan, the NHL’s dean of discipline, might do with this is a waste of energy. All we can know for sure is that it will be scrutinized. The guess here is that there will be no suspension, and that there should be no suspension -- that the hit was deserving of a penalty and nothing more.
But who knows? And who knows what effect a suspension might have on a Flyers team that has now been outplayed in three consecutive games.
Giroux has no history of discipline issues with the league, which will work in his favor. Zubrus returned to the game and did not appear to be injured seriously -- in fact, scoring the final New Jersey goal into an empty net -- which also will work in Giroux's favor. The fact that Zubrus, who is 6-foot-5, was hit in the head by the shoulder of a player who is 5-foot-11, means that Zubrus was already bent over -- and that should work in Giroux’s favor, too. It wasn’t as if he reached up with an elbow.
But who knows?
The problem is that it is very obvious that Giroux skated a long way in anger before the hit. He was carping with the officials seconds before, furious as he skated up the ice, apparently because Devils goaltender Marty Brodeur illegally played the puck outside of the trapezoid behind the net without being whistled for a penalty.
So there is that, and there is the penalty call itself: “illegal check to head.” You do not see that one every day.
Again, it was not a clean play. But it did not seem to rise to the level of a suspension. Then again, I don’t watch suspension video for a living.
So, we will see -- as if the Flyers didn’t already have enough to worry about.
Out worked,out coached,and out played...!!!
— mean mean pride,mean mean pride.- so what is it that has made the devils the superior franchise over the past 15 years or so? a dedication to building the team from the net out. great goaltending, with a high emphasis on physical, agile, and scarey good defensemen. the forwards are an afterthought. they are built for playoff hockey and show it year in year out. they have lost hall of famers off their blue line in the last four or five years and have rebounded almost back to their glory days. don't be surprised if we have to sit by and watch another parking lot parade in the near future.— tockeyhockey
- You'd think you A-hole Philly fans would be used to these out comes by now... when Philadelphia loses the country wins... Loser Town USA is Philly, Pa...— soulchild2
- We know Pittsburgh fans are used to it.
2010 - Pens eliminated in Pittsburgh by number 8 seed Canadiens.
2011 - Pens blow 3-1 series lead and choke out in the first round.
2012 - Pens are Las Vegas favorites to win the Cup but choke out in the first round again.
Is there any truth to the rumor that you're going to rename your team "the Firstrounders?" - We know Pittsburgh fans are used to it.2010 - Pens eliminated in Pittsburgh by number 8 seed Canadiens.2011 - Pens blow 3-1 series lead and choke out in the first round.2012 - Pens are Las Vegas favorites to win the Cup but choke out in the first round again.Is there any truth to the rumor that you're going to rename your team "the Firstrounders?" (HTML deleted)
- You'd think you A-hole Philly fans would be used to these out comes by now... when Philadelphia loses the country wins... Loser Town USA is Philly, Pa...— soulchild2
- I guess they did not have the heart to get it done on this game. I really hope they get it for the next and the next and the next. WOW, it looks like a difficult task but you never know.— Folmi
- I have been critical of Bryz, but he is blameless tonight. This is one of the worst series any flyers team has played. I hope they get booed all game long on Tuesday. Congrats to the Devils for having the guts to compete for a chance to win the cup. Lavy has no answer to the Devils game plan and the players have no guts and should be ashamed.— fjarmstrong85
- Giroux, no Giroux, what's the difference. The team already has visions of the golf course. What a kick in the pants it will be for these fans to see the Kings (Flyers West only with goaltending) win a Cup.— Repubrebirth
- It is easy to predict what Shanaban will do. Giroux is the Flyer's MVP and will not get suspended. Look at all his past decisions. If it is a star player, he is lenient. If not, they get multiple games.— P Even
- The defense needs to be rebuilt. I would keep Coburn, Mezaros, and Grossman only. Bryz has to go..... is he better than Leighton? I don't think so. He can be solid at times but he is not a shutdown goalie.— flyerfan from section Z
- I would have though that after the big bad Flyers of 1997 were embarrassingly swept in the Cup Finals by the Detroit Red Wings, that it would have been clear that a commitment to defense, and a system that utilizes speed and skill and hustle to prevent the opponent from scoring or mounting pressure...who am I kidding?— gnarlyscuzz
- Let's see. Since the flyers last won the cup, the Pens have won 3, the Steelers 6 Super bowls and even the Pirates a WS. Throw in a National Championship for Pitt.— JoePanther
- @SamCrow yup but now its the forecheck trap that the coaches and players have no answer for and has frustrated us yet again!!— TNFlyerNut
- oh, and by the way... if the kings manage a way to win the cup this year, homer might get run out of town on a rail.— tockeyhockey
