For a good portion of Tuesday, the status of captain Claude Giroux was up in the air. Craig Berube didn't know anything. R.J. Umberger played time on the top line while hoping Giroux was good enough to play.
Finally, after hours of speculation, Ron Hextall revealed the mildly bad news. Giroux would be out for Wednesday night's game against the Rangers and likely out for Thursday night's game against the Minnesota Wild.
The silver lining: Giroux should be back in days – as in Saturday's game against Columbus. But the scary thought is that the Flyers must survive back-to-back games not only without their captain, but one of the few players who has consistently registered points.
Giroux has a five-game points streak. Umberger, who takes Giroux's place on the top line, is without a point in his last nine games.
Umberger is just one of many Flyers that need to start contributing and snap out of whatever fog they may be in. The Flyers need scoring and it leaves just Jake Voracek – who enters Wednesday's game with a 10-game point streak – and Brayden Schenn as the two players really contributing of late.
So wherever the rest of the Flyers have decided to go, it's time to come out and play. Players like Matt Read, Wayne Simmonds, Vincent Lecavalier and others have to pick up their captain.
There is a sign that the Flyers are prepared to make a long-term change to the lineup. Scott Laughton was called up from the Phantoms to join the Flyers for at least the next two games. Given the point production throughout the lineup – only four forwards have more than 10 points – this may not be a short-term fix for Giroux's injury.
You have to wonder if Jason Akeson, Chris VandeVelde or someone else is playing for their job. If Laughton can perform, he could easily find a home on one of the Flyers top three lines.
Laughton is not being brought here to be a fourth-line player. The expectations are far greater.
But you could say the same for Akeson and VandeVelde and certainly can for Umberger and Lecavalier.
So the Flyers face a dangerous test. Wednesday's game marks the beginning of a mini-series of sorts with the Rangers. The Flyers will play the Rangers three times before the end of November. They have eight straight regular-season losses in New York and lost three of the four games played in New York during last season's first round of the playoffs.
Additionally, the Flyers have a Minnesota team very capable of keeping up with the Flyers – given the injuries – and tests with Columbus, who claimed a 4-3 win on Friday, the upstart Islanders and the Detroit Red Wings.
Giroux will likely be back by then, but that still doesn't change the problem facing the Flyers. Giroux and Voracek can only play so much. And constant rotation of lines is crucial with the pace these opponents will present for the Flyers.
They are players that are not trusted at the moment. But that is nothing a few successful games can't fix.
With the Flyers dealt another tough hand on Wednesday and Thursday, Umberger, Lecavalier and others could erase a nightmare start to the season. Wednesday would be a good time to wake up.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
