Ahead of Florida debut, Claude Giroux is already doing what the Panthers hoped he would
.JPG "Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) makes a save as Ottawa Senators’ Austin Watson (16) and Panthers’ Claude Giroux (28) fall during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 26, 2022, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press via AP)")
When the Florida Panthers needed to stage a comeback in the final minutes Saturday, Andrew Brunette sent Claude Giroux out to the faceoff circle to try to make a play.
It was only Giroux’s second game as a Panther — Florida landed him in a blockbuster trade exactly a week earlier — and the interim coach, understandably, had already come to trust the 34-year-old Canadians as one of his most important players. In his very first game as a Panther, Giroux started on the top line next to Aleksander Barkov. In the most important minutes of his second, Brunette was not going to keep him off the ice.
The decision paid off. Giroux won a crucial offensive-zone faceoff and Barkov scored the game-tying goal with 2:22 left. A little while later, Florida won in a shootout to cap its latest come-from-behind victory.
“He’s a special player,” Brunette said Saturday. “It’s fun to see him and Barky have a little chemistry together.”
Giroux’s first two games as a Panther could hardly have gone better. In his debut Thursday, the All-Star forward tallied two assists — neither on particularly spectacular plays — and put four shots on goal while posting a plus-minus of plus-2 as Florida came from behind to beat the Montreal Canadiens. In his second game, Giroux had two more assists with five shots on goal and won 13 of 20 faceoffs, including five in a row in the final 2:30 of the third period to set up the game-tying goal and give the Panthers close to half a dozen more chances to win the game in the final minute of regulation.
On Tuesday, he’ll finally make his debut in Sunrise when Florida (44-15-6) hosts the Canadiens (18-37-11) at 7 p.m. at FLA Live Arena and the Panthers, even after Giroux was almost entirely shut out in Florida’s 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, is excited by what they’ve seen so far from the former Philadelphia Flyer.
“It’s a little bit of time to get the flow and the rhythm together,” Brunette said after the win in Ottawa, “but a night like tonight is a good step and it maybe accelerated the process a little bit.”
Coincidentally, Giroux was on the ice for the Panthers’ last game in South Florida, playing in his fourth to last game as a Flyer on March 10. He logged an assist and three shots on goal, and the Panthers won their final game before embarking on a two-part, seven-game road trip.
Since then, Florida is in a vastly different place, even though it remains atop the Eastern Conference standings. Giroux, and defensemen Ben Chiarot and Robert Hagg are in after a series of trade-deadline moves. Star defenseman Aaron Ekblad is out, likely for the rest of the regular season after injuring his right knee March 18.
Since those newcomers debuted and Ekblad went on long-term injured reserve, the Panthers have won 2 of 3, all in Canada, and have mixed moments of brilliance with the growing pains Brunette suspected might come with a massive lineup overhaul.
Chiarot and Hagg both notched assists in their debuts Thursday, and both have been more than solid so far. While Hagg has been on the ice for 5-on-5 action, the Panthers have outshot opponents 20-12 and outscored opponents 2-1. While Chiarot has been on the ice at 5-on-5, they’ve outshot opponents 42-20, although they’ve actually been outscored 3-1.
Giroux, however, has been counted on in the biggest spots, playing 10:33 on the power play and 2:31 on the penalty kill, already, and stuffing the stat sheet.
In the three games since joining Florida, Giroux leads or is tied for the team lead in faceoffs taken, faceoffs won, shot attempts, assists and points, and is tied for third in scoring chances, tied for fifth in shots on goal and tied for third in hits among forwards.
“He brings a lot. Obviously, he’s a complete player,” All-Star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau said Saturday. “The way he plays, the way he takes faceoffs, plays hard, plays gritty and is just a good person — I’m not surprised he has four points already.”
As strong as Giroux’s start has been statistically, Sunday provided a reminder his integration is still a work in progress — and he’s not quite the true superstar he once was.
With both teams playing the second night of a back-to-back set, the Maple Leafs slowed down the Panthers by holding them to just three 5-on-5 high-danger scoring chances of the season — tied for their fewest of the season — and shut down Giroux by holding him without a shot on goal.
When general manager Bill Zito explained what he thought Giroux would bring to Florida, he painted the picture of an overqualified role player with star upside.
On his first weekend with the Panthers, Giroux played the part.
