In a key Thursday night win in St. Louis, Claude Giroux's 11th goal of the season had some added flare.
And why not? It not only gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead, but completed a checklist of goal scoring against the rest of the NHL.
Giroux has at least one goal against every other team in the NHL — yup, all 29.
Similarly, Giroux has been one of the NHL's best point producers in over the last five years — which includes the 31 games of 2015-16 as the fifth year. He has tallied 328 points in 319 games over the last five seasons, most of any player in the NHL — more than Sidney Crosby (300), more than Patrick Kane (300), more than Steven Stamkos (288) or Alex Ovechkin (308). Second on that list is Evgeni Malkin, 17 points behind with 311.
So why isn't there more love for Giroux across the league? Why is it that the Flyers captain always seems to have to find a way to prove himself?
Giroux is not the sexy player that Kane or Crosby is. You won't see him dazzling night in and night out. He's not always a highlight-feel player, though it is a part of his bag of tricks.
Some will look at Giroux's numbers and stack them up based on points per game. If there's one thing Giroux has proven over the last five seasons, it's that he is durable. The maximum number of games played in the last five seasons would be 324. Giroux has played in 319 games since the start of the 2011-12 season, all but five, the only five games he has missed in his entire career since becoming a full-time Flyer at the start of the 2009-10 season.
If going by points per game, it gives Giroux a total of 1.028 point per game. The argument that Giroux has scored more because he's played more by being healthy is moot. Only three players rank ahead of Giroux with fewer games: Crosby (1.230), Malkin (1.178) and Kane (1.031). Among those trailing, four notable names have played at least 300 games: Ovechkin, John Tavares, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin.
Is that because Giroux is far from being a successful shootout player? Is it because more of his goals and points come on the muck and grind power play than at even strength? Perhaps a big part of the reason is that unlike Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin, Stamkos or Kane is that Giroux's team hasn't experienced the collective success that the individual exudes.
Whatever the reason, Giroux has certainly proven his worth in Philadelphia.
Thursday's goal is just one example. Give him the space to do something of ridiculous nature and he might pull out on of his dazzling displays.
Another example goes back to the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Flyers one game from advancing over the Pittsburgh Penguins. It's Game 6 and the Flyers are one loss away from watching a 3-0 lead disappear. The then-assistant captain for the Flyers tells head coach Peter Laviolette he wants to be on the ice first. He delivers one of the best shifts you'll ever see, laying a crushing hit on Penguins captain Crosby before scoring the first goal in a 5-1 series-clinching win. Suddenly, people start to see.
Giroux's first season as captain may be the best example of his under-the-radar persona. Giroux said eight games into the season, amidst a miserable record, that the Flyers would make the playoffs. In April, with the team a win away from clinching a playoff spot with four games remaining, the Flyers not only got the win, but Giroux scored twice as well. He finished that season with 86 points, second-most in his career.
He leads by voice, he leads by example, he leads the NHL's scoresheet of superstars as an evident star that can almost go unrecognized.
Giroux may not get the accolades on an individual basis, but you would be hard-pressed to find a more respected and liked player in the Flyers locker room. He is still a capable leader on and off the ice for the 19 other players that dress on a daily basis.
And if the rest of the league doesn't take notice, that's their loss.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
