(Kate Frese/SB Nation)
By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
It was apparent from the drop of the puck on Saturday afternoon. Claude Giroux had that look in his eye.
The Flyers had a chance to clinch a playoff spot with one point in the standings, though a win would obviously be a sweeter way to cap the regular season. With everything in their control, the captain took matters into his own hands with a performance for the ages.
Giroux scored a hat trick, the first of his career in the regular season. He capped off a 34-goal, 102-point season with a game that should solidify his place as a Hart Trophy finalist.
It was reminiscent of the last time Giroux garnered Hart consideration in 2011-12, ironically, the last time the Flyers faced the Pittsburgh Penguins in a playoff series.
Remember that opening shift against Sidney Crosby in Game 6? That look — the one that says there is no way we’re losing this game. Giroux leveled Crosby with a hit seconds into the game, then scored in the game’s first minute. The Flyers never looked back.
That was the season Giroux posted career numbers. He scored 28 goals and had 93 points. In a season where Giroux was just 24 years old, he was a budding superstar in the NHL.
The past few years have been different. Giroux’s numbers dipped. The Flyers were struggling to make the playoffs. As a captain, Giroux certainly had to shoulder a lot of the insufficiencies and pressures to perform.
Now at age 30, Giroux is right in the middle of his prime years as a 10-year NHL veteran. And he just delivered the best season of his career — the first with 30 goals and 100 points. Perhaps bigger than the individual firsts are how monumental a season of that magnitude is in Flyers history.
The last 100-point season was by Eric Lindros in 1995-96, over 20 years ago. Lindros himself was a generational player in Flyers history and had his number retired in January. It’s been a while since the Flyers could boast of such numbers from one of their own.
Giroux also seems to take the ebb and flow of a season a lot differently than he did as a 24-year-old. During the Flyers struggles in November, a 10-game losing streak, you could sense the frustration wasn’t just over losing games and feeling like the team deserved better.
Giroux has watched teammates come and go and not reach the ultimate goal. Those who get to hoist the Stanley Cup are a select few. But to not even make the playoffs and get the opportunity is more what this is about.
Giroux started his career when the Flyers were perennial contenders, in the playoffs every season with the possibility for deep runs. Much like the fans, Giroux has had to endure the Flyers overall plan to rebuild and get younger, while going through his own personal struggles.
A career year for the captain didn’t make it any easier for the Flyers to make the playoffs. It took all 82 games to clinch a spot. Giroux, in particular, embraced the challenge. In the final 19 games in March and April, Giroux scored 12 goals and had 28 points, willing the Flyers across the finish line.
Perhaps that’s why as Giroux picked up his final goal and point of the regular season, putting the icing on the cake in a convincing 5-0 win on Saturday, Giroux was able to enjoy the moment, smiling and waving to the crowd as they chanted M-V-P.
MVP is right. The Flyers are not in the playoffs without Claude Giroux. The Flyers aren’t in the playoffs without Giroux’s individual performance. The Flyers aren’t in the playoffs without his leadership.
As the Flyers head into a series with Pittsburgh again, this time with the Penguins coming in as back-to-back champions, Giroux will need to be that leader for the Flyers again. He will need to have that look.
It is the look of a superstar wanting to change a game. It is the look of a captain ready to lead the troops into battle. It is the look of an MVP.
