Girouxs hit on Zubrus a symbol for series

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NEWARK, N.J. -- It worked in Game 6 of the Flyers first series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In that game, Claude Giroux set the tone of the afternoon by crushing Sidney Crosby along the boards before skating in on Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to score less than a minute after the first puck had dropped. He cant be blamed for hoping to work some of the same magic in Game 4 against the New Jersey Devils.

But like so much of this Eastern Conference semifinals against the Devils, Girouxs good intention went very, very awry Sunday night at the Prudential Center. If the hit on Crosby was a symbol of the Flyers series against the Penguins, his hit on Dainius Zubrus in the second period of Game 4 against the Devils was a metaphor for how this series has gone.

That hit, like this series as a whole, reeked of frustration, of defeat.

And now, down 3-1 in the series after losing 4-2, the Flyers could be without their leading scorer and top center for Tuesdays win-or-die Game 5. Girouxs hit will most likely be reviewed by the NHL come Monday.

Everybodys frustrated, Kimmo Timonen said. But now is not the time to get frustrated. Its the time to pay attention to details and look at the tape and what we can do better.

Of course, Girouxs aggravation with the way Sunday evening played out makes perfect sense. For a brief yet unsatisfying 1:14 in the first period, the Flyers were actually up 2-0. But in the moments that followed, there was not an even-strength battle they could win. Not along the boards. Not in front of Devils goalie Martin Brodeur. Not in their own end.

The Flyers team on the ice for Game 4 was simply the epitome of frustration, with Giroux leading the way. But he was, perhaps, overtaken by the emotion rather than fueled by it.

Its a fine line between frustration and emotion and passion, Danny Briere said. I think thats right now what were trying to find.I think weve got to find a way to tow that line a little better than we have so far this postseason.

There were only four seconds left in the second period when Giroux put Zubrus in his sights. The Flyers were only down by one goal. And yet, despite leading by as much as two, the Flyers played like the losing team all evening. In that respect, Giroux cannot be blamed for trying to awaken his teammates.

To add to his frustration, Giroux believed Broduer had just illegally handled the puck and was deserving of a penalty. He saw Zubrus, who had just scored the Devils go-ahead third goal, and went at him with everything he had.

He surprised me, Zubrus said. I dont think the puck was that near, so I was just trying to get in on the forecheck. He decided to play me. I had a similar hit earlier in the year where I felt the point of contact was in the head and it was a similar thing where he didnt get me in the jaw or anything, didnt knock me out, but I still needed a few seconds for sure just to kind of get back to it and get my feet back under me.

Said Giroux, I was just trying to finish my hit and he kind of leaned in and kind of tried to chip the puck in. I didnt see the replay, so I dont know. Obviously Im not a dirty player. I dont want to hit guys on the head. I was just trying to finish my hit there.

Dirty, perhaps not. Giroux has no record of previous incidents, and the fact that Zubrus did return to the game -- and scored the empty-netter in the closing seconds of regulation -- helps the case against a suspension.

If Giroux returns for Game 5 Tuesday night in Philadelphia (he said he doesnt believe hell be suspended), he needs to recapture the passionate leadership he demonstrated against Pittsburgh. He needs to set the tone by playing with effort and with urgency.

And every one of his teammates needs to follow suit.

I don't know what to tell you, Giroux said. It's frustrating to see. Including myself, we're not winning battles. We're always playing in our zone. We need to find a way to play better.

E-mail Sarah Baicker at sbaicker@comcastsportsnet.com

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