DALLAS _ No one asked me, but I still wish the Flyers would hold off on putting Claude Giroux back in the lineup before Christmas.
Every indication we had today in Big D is that he is going to play tomorrow night against the Dallas Stars.
He took regular shifts with his line and was part of a new power play unit that even surprised Jaromir Jagr, who like me, wondered why Scott Hartnell was bounced from G's unit for Jakuk Voracek.
GM Paul Holmgren surprised by admitting today that Giroux had been cleared for "ALL" activity last Saturday. That said, today was the first time he took some hits, as mandated by himself, to Braydon Coburn.
Giroux said we'll know if he's playing simply by looking at warm-ups. If he is there tomorrow, then he is playing.
It goes without saying the Flyers have missed Giroux's absence these past 4 games, two of which they lost. But I also think we learned something about Harry Zolnierczyk, who is versatile in the lineup, and even Ben Holmstrom, who won 6 of 8 faceoffs against Colorado.
I don't think it's a bad idea getting these guys ice time now for when they might be needed for long stretches.
I do wonder how the Flyers handle Andreas Lilja because frankly, I feel Marc-Andre Bourdon is a very comfortable fit on the blue line right now.
Here's my story on CSNPhilly.com about Giroux. His comments say it all:
click here
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