Giroux relishes — and leads Panthers in — ‘stressful,’ ‘exciting’ Stanley Cup playoffs
When the Florida Panthers lost two of their first three games to the Washington Capitals in the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, it was no big deal to Claude Giroux. The versatile All-Star forward was in just his second full season in the NHL when his Philadelphia Flyers lost the first three games of their second-round series to the Boston Bruins, only to storm back and win four in a row — including a three-goal comeback in Game 7 — to reach the NHL Conference Finals and, eventually, the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals.
Game 4 — with the Panthers down to the Capitals, but not on the brink of elimination — was no time to panic or jump on a table and give a big speech. It’s just the way the Stanley Cup playoffs go sometimes.
“That’s why you play playoff hockey,” said Giroux, 34. “It’s stressful, it’s exciting. There’s a lot of emotions that go down. You lose Game 3 and you’re down a little bit, but we just believed that we could come back in the series.”
Although Giroux didn’t record a point in either of Florida’s two games in Washington, the Panthers reclaimed control of the series by splitting their two games at Capital One Arena to even the series as it moved back to Sunrise for Game 5 on Wednesday.
The Panthers have been open about their struggles with nerves early in the series and Giroux — the player with the most postseason experience on the roster and a longtime captain for the Flyers — has been instrumental as a leader for a team without a win in a playoff series since 1996.
“When he’s on the ice and when he’s on the bench, he’s like another coach. He’s seen it all and he’s played in all these different moments,” interim coach Andrew Brunette said Thursday. “Guys listen to him and he’s vocal on a team that doesn’t have a lot of vocal guys.”
Giroux, however, said the urgency was understood after Game 3 and will be understood for the rest of the series, as it becomes a best-of-3 situation.
“There’s a lot of leaders on this team. There’s a lot of guys that you don’t even have to say anything. You’ve just got to go out there and do the right thing, and that’s what this team does,” the Canadian said. “We have a lot of leaders that do the right thing on the ice and that’s the best way to lead.”
Marchment a game-time decision
Mason Marchment did not participate in the Panthers’ morning skate Wednesday and will be a “game-time decision” for Game 5, Brunette said.
The winger missed three games at the end of the regular season with an unspecified issue and Brunette said the same injury could keep him out Thursday.
If Marchment can’t go, Maxim Mamin will likely slot into the lineup and play in his Cup playoffs debut, playing next to fellow forwards Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell on the third line, as he did at Florida’s morning skate at FLA Live Arena on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old Russian played 40 games in the regular season, and had seven goals and seven assists. He also won the Gagarin Cup as a champion in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League in 2019.
This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 12:56 PM.
