Giroux confident Flyers can win without him

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VOORHEES, N.J.Claude Giroux had never been suspended at any level of hockey. Not as a kid. Not in junior. Not in the AHL.

That all changed on Monday, when he received a one-game suspension for his hit to the head of New Jersey Devils forward Dainius Zubrus in Game 4 (see story). And with the Flyers trailing the Devils in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, 3-1, the punishment couldnt have come at a worse time for the Flyers top center.

Its obviously not easy, Giroux said. You want to be there to help the team win. But Ive got a lot of confidence in the guys that are gonna go out there and get the win. After that, were going to have to go to Jersey and come back for Game 7 here.

In a situation where they could possibly be eliminated, the Flyers will feel Girouxs absence. He leads the league in postseason goals (8), assists (9), points (17), power-play goals (3) and shorthanded goals (2).

But Giroux believes that, without him in the lineup, other players will heed the call to contribute.

I really do think the guys are going to step up and play well, Giroux said. The whole season, weve been playing a team game. Everybodys been playing well together. The energy that we have in the room today, its great. Im pretty excited to see the guys play tonight.

Like the Pittsburgh Penguins did without James Neal in their lineup and the Devils did in Game 2 without Ilya Kovalchuk, the Flyers have to hope they can use Girouxs absence as a way to galvanize the team.

After all, they havent exactly been playing at their best through the four games of this series against the Devils. Theyve struggled in practically all even-strength situations, and havent had much luck generating offenseeven with Giroux in the lineup.

G's been unbelievable for us all year, Wayne Simmonds said. We owe it to him to get him at least one more game. It's do-or-die time right now. It's either we play the right way or we don't and we go home. I think we know what we're in for this game.

Without Giroux, coach Peter Laviolette will have to shuffle up his lines once again. That means the Flyers will hit the ice for Game 5 with their fourth new look in as many games. That said, like Giroux, Laviolette believes other players will push to become factors Tuesday night.

I expect big games from all of our players, to be honest with you, Laviolette said. I have a lot of confidence that we can do that.

Even with Giroux, the Flyers have struggled to play their game against the Devils. They know they must make up for a big loss without him, but they also know they cant allow his absence to become a distraction.

Instead, they simply need to focus on playing like the team that eliminated Pittsburgh only a few weeks ago.

Hes been our best player the whole year, but hes not there, Kimmo Timonen said. Same thing goes when Prongs got hurt. Hes not here. Its not about Giroux tonight, its about us. We have to go out there and play as a team.

Hopefully we get a win and get him back, but everybody has to realize here its not about him today. Its about us.

E-mail Sarah Baicker at sbaicker@comcastsportsnet.com

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