WASHINGTON -- Once again, the worst case scenario for the Flyers has unfolded: another player lost to a confirmed concussion.
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren was hoping Monday night in Chicago that Giroux, who was accidentally kneed in the head Saturday by teammate Wayne Simmonds, was suffering only from whiplash.
That changed Tuesday morning when Holmgren announced that Giroux wasnt feeling very good, that his symptoms had worsened, and that is now out indefinitely with a concussion (see story).
Giroux, the NHL overall points leader with 39, also leads the team in goals (16) and assists (23). He's second on the team in power-play goals with five.
Holmgren, who said Monday that Giroux had been making steady progress and feeling better, said in his statement today that his symptoms had gotten gradually worse.
As has been the case all season, the Flyers shrug their shoulders and go on. Truth is, despite a mounting list of casualties, nothing has been able to fully stop them.
The guys have responded well to everything in general, I guess, coach Peter Laviolette said. Whether its schedule or injury or youth or change, whatever it might be. The guys we put into the lineup have gone out and played hard every night. We havent won every game. Certainly, theres been a consistent effort.
NHL
Though the players in the dressing room suspected the worst, they didnt know until the media informed them that Giroux was out indefinitely.
I had no clue, Danny Briere said. For us, we take it one game at a time. We cant look too far ahead. Well deal with whatever is in front of us. That is all we can do.
Enforcer Jody Shelley, goes back into the lineup tonight against the Capitals after a five-game absence as a healthy scratch, while rookie Sean Couturier, for the foreseeable future, replaces Giroux between Scott Hartnell and Jaromir Jagr.
The Flyers have been remarkably resilient this season, overcoming the losses of Chris Pronger, which is on-going, James van Riemsdyk, Matt Read, Brayden Schenn, Erik Gustafsson, Andreas Liljayou get the idea.
You look at the best teams over the years, most of them have had to deal with injuries and its how you react to them, Briere said. Thats what says a lot about your team. You dont see teams rely on one or two guys these days to dominate. You can have 2-3 superstars on a team but its your depth players that make a difference.
The Flyers are 10-4-1 without Pronger this season and have won five in succession without him.
With Pronger and sixth man Lilja out, theyve imported Marc-Andre Bourdon and Kevin Marshall into the lineup. While you can tell they arent as strong on the penalty kill and lack Prongers experience on the power play, the Flyers have overcome.
Actually, the power play has risen in the rankings in the past two weeks with a depleted lineup.
They lose Schenn, but theres Harry Zolniercyzk to take his place.
We wouldnt be in the same position if we had to play without Pronger and Giroux the entire year, Briere said.
For the short while, however, the Flyers are making due and theyre perched as the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference, too.
You can do it for stretches here and there and thats when your depth comes into play, Briere said. Look at our third and fourth line and how valuable these guys have been this year. That tells you a lot about our team.
The Flyers won against Tampa Bay without Pronger, without Giroux and without No. 1 goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, who got hurt in the third period left the game but will make his sixth straight start against the Caps.
Its been awesome, Shelley said the clubs resiliency. All teams want to have that. All teams wonder what happens when youre down. What happens when things are bad and guys are missing. We havent spent any time thinking or talking about it as far as Pronger and now G and things like that. Thats just a test of our system and our young energy, I guess. Almost like an ignorance to even spend time looking at that.
Ive said it before. The 20 guys wearing the Philadelphia Flyers jersey is representing the organization and we play one way and were going to do it again. We dont sit here and look for a crutch.Since the first moment in camp, its been wow, where did this guy come from? Or this guys impresses tonight, this week or this month.
You have a situation where you have guys waiting to jump into a spot. And show what they got. Look at Couturier. Hes been waiting on the fourth line, hes got great talent. Hes done a great job. Now he gets an opportunity. (see story)
So far this season, the Flyers have lost 68 man games to injury.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net