Flyers excited about playing first game vs. Giroux

Kevin Hayes (left, gray jersey) and Scott Laughton (right, orange jersey) practice on Friday at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena (Photo by Joe Siville)

Playing against a former teammate for the first time is always special but for the Flyers, Saturday night’s first game against ex-captain Claude Giroux will go beyond that.

The Flyers will visit Ottawa and get their initial look at Giroux in something other than a Philadelphia jersey when the two teams hit the ice.

Giroux, a former No. 1 draft pick of the Flyers in 2006, made his NHL debut in 2008 and proceeded to play exactly 1,000 games over a 14-year span. He recorded 900 points during that tenure, second on the franchise points only to Bob Clarke’s 1,210.

The Flyers traded Giroux to the Florida Panthers at the deadline last season and received forward Owen Tippett in return. Giroux signed with the Senators as a free agent during the offseason.

As of Friday afternoon, the Senators were sitting in last place in the Atlantic Division with a 4-6-0 record.

Giroux stood third in team scoring with five goals/nine points with a plus-1.

The Flyers didn’t get a chance to play against Giroux in a Panthers uniform, so now they will get to see him playing for the Senators.

Travis Konecny says he’s looking forward to the occasion.

“It will be pretty cool playing against him,’’ Konecny said during an interview after Friday’s practice at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. “Like I’m sure a lot of guys on this team (believe), he had a big impact on our careers.’’

Giroux passed Clarke for having served the most games as captain of the Flyers. He carried the “C’’ for a decade.

“It will be a lot of fun,’’ Konecny predicted. “It’s not so weird for us. It’s probably a little different for him because he’ll be playing against his old team for the first time, so we’ll see how it goes.’’

The Flyers are 0-1-1 on their three-game road trip, having lost in overtime to the Rangers, 1-0, on Tuesday night in New York, followed by a 5-2 setback in Toronto on Wednesday.

Carter Hart (5-0-2) is expected to start in goal for the Flyers against the Senators.

Philadelphia did have a day off on Thursday after the back-to-back games and then got in a good practice on Friday. So they should be back on their game for the trip’s finale.

“It’s always nice when you can sneak in a day off on a road trip to kind of rest up and regroup,’’ Konecny said. “Then get a full day of practice before going into Ottawa is huge for us to kind of hit the reset button and put that game in Toronto behind us.’’

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About Wayne Fish 2385 Articles
Wayne Fish has been covering the Flyers since 1976, a stint which includes 18 Stanley Cup Finals, four Winter Olympics and numerous other international events.