Claude Giroux celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal in the Flyers' 3-2 overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night. (Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com)
It's time for the NHL – for the voters of the Hart Trophy finalists in 2011-12, Steve Yzerman and the rest of the Team Canada committee, and quite frankly everyone else – to wake up and see the light. Claude Giroux is an elite player.
The Flyers captain continued his stellar season with the game-winning goal in the Flyers' 3-2 overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night. The goal came with 4.2 seconds left before the shootout. As if Sunday's final play wasn't enough to drive you crazy.
For starters, this was a game that didn't deserve to go to a shootout, so be thankful for Giroux's heroics. His goal gave the team that had been buzzing for the entire third period the win and saved this exciting, playoff-like game from a skills competition.
Secondly, Giroux had already earned as assist on Scott Hartnell's second goal of the game in the first period. That extended the captain's point streak to four games. After picking up four assists over the Penguins this weekend, Giroux added another two points on Tuesday. In the past week – four games played – the captain has seven points, bringing his total to 71.
Giroux's season is a microcosm of the Flyers season. As the Flyers started at just 1-7-0 in the first eight games, Giroux started slow with an injured hand, picking up just three assists in those games.
He didn't score a goal until Nov. 9. At the conclusion of that day, where the Flyers picked up a 4-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers, Giroux had one goal and seven assists for eight points after 16 games. In the 52 games since, Giroux has 23 goals, 40 assists and 63 points.
But the drama that surrounded Giroux's overtime winner is something that makes him one of the game's elites.
"You could tell that he wanted it," Hartnell said. "It seems like he finds a way to get the shots through most of the time. He just absolutely let off a rocket there. The goalie didn't know it went in. He went down and it was already by him."
"He's been playing like that for longer than [two months]," head coach Craig Berube said. "He's playing really hard. He's skating, attacking. He's leading our team."
Giroux now trails Phil Kessel by two points for third and Ryan Getzlaf by three points for second in the NHL. Sidney Crosby leads all players with 91 points.
In the Flyers toughest stretch of the season, Giroux has performed with more than points. Always an instructor on the ice, his coach says the energy starts off the ice.
"It starts on the bench," Berube said. "He's vocal and really into it all the time. He does a very good job of keeping everybody going."
The Flyers had many chances throughout the game, connecting with the post on numerous occasions. That didn't altar the Flyers plan to fire at will on Antti Raanta. The Flyers took 37 shots in the game.
"We did a lot of good things," Giroux said. "We hit a lot of posts but when you do that you get momentum and we kind of got it from there."
Even Berube was starting to think about the impending shootout that was looming upon the final seconds of overtime. Giroux had an answer on the final play.
"I knew there wasn't very much time left. I honestly was ready to pull out my lineup card for the shootout," Berube said. "It was a great shot. He's a determined guy and obviously he felt he had enough time to get down there and take the shot."
"I knew there wasn't a lot of time," Giroux said. "I didn't really aim to be honest. I just shot it on net."
So in the three games to open a 12-game stretch against playoff teams that will leave the Flyers will just five games remaining on the season, the Flyers have been up to the task, taking home six points. The next test is the visiting Dallas Stars, who also had the Flyers number in the first meeting of the season.
"I think we took this as a challenge," Giroux said. "We've been playing pretty good so we wanted to take this challenge against one of the best teams in the league. It's a big win for us. It's a big two points."
Kevin Durso is the lead beat writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
