Giroux warms to occasion vs. Bruins, Flyers not so much
PHILADELPHIA >> For a 13th consecutive season, dependably and on time, a player destined to rate among the greatest in Flyers history spilled Thursday night onto the Wells Fargo Center ice.
Claude Giroux was back, playing for the first time in the preseason and making a mild contribution in a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins.
Playing left wing on Sean Couturier’s top line, with Joel Farabee on the right, Giroux assisted on the Flyers’ only goal, a long shot from the right point by Matt Niskanen in the first. The captain logged 21 minutes, 22 seconds of ice time and won seven of 11 faceoffs, then gave himself an honest review.
“It’s the same story every year,” Giroux said. “The first one is tough to get into and get your legs under you. But I felt we were a little better in the second period.
“It’s just good to get the first one out of the way.”
The Bruins took a 1-0 lead on their seventh shot on goal when Danton Heinen converted a pass from Charlie Coyle at 7:47. Niskanen’s score, from the top of the right wing circle after Giroux’s feed, sailed high above the waving stick of Jaroslav Halak.
“I’m excited about the opportunity because there is a lot of talent here,” Niskanen said. “The younger D, I think they are very mobile, move the puck well and have good instincts. Hopefully, we can help them out.”
Boston took a 2-1 lead at 4:16 of the second when Brendan Gaunce backhanded a blind feed to Peter Cehlarik to the right of Brian Elliott. With Phil Myers caught too deep, Cehlarik made the uncomplicated conversion.
With 3:45 left, Connor Clifton raced out of the penalty box, picked up a feed from Anders Bjork, broken in alone and scored on Alex Lyon.
Though Couturier and Giroux were together for the first time in the Alain Vigneault era, the Flyers would fall to 0-2-1.
“We didn’t do too good,” said Couturier, who assisted on the Niskanen goal. “Or I didn’t. But it’s all part of the process. And it was good to get back with G. He and I just have to get our timing back a little bit.”
Farabee was delighted with the opportunity to share a line with two franchise pillars.
“It was really good work by G and Coots down low,” he said. “They grinded it out for a bit and then we got possession. I was able to free up some space in front of the net and Niskanen put the puck right where he wanted it. “It was a really good shot.” Vigneault would recommend that Farabee enjoy the experience.
“If I am him, I am real happy I am playing with those two guys,” the head coach said during camp. “Obviously, if you’re him, you’re playing with two pretty good players. It’s a great opportunity and we’ll see what happens moving forward here.” Farabee wouldn’t disagree. “It’s a lot of fun,” Farabee said. “We’re battling it there.”
••• Elliott started and, as scheduled, played the first two periods. Though making some impressive stops, the 34-year-old allowed two goals on 24 shots.
Alex Lyon played 18:23 of the third period before Vigneault went to an extra skater.
Elliott allowed one goal on eight shots in 30:13 of action in an earlier exhibition loss to the Islanders.
Vigneault plans to give Elliott a complete game in his next start. On a similar preparation arc, Carter Hart will play two periods in his next start followed by a full 60 minutes.
••• The projected top powerplay unit of Giroux, Jake Voracek, Couturier, James van Riemsdyk and Shayne Gostisbehere was together for the first time in the preseason.
The group had its first chance when Sean Kuraly was boxed for tripping at 13:04 of the first, but was generally flat.
Earlier in the man-advantage situation, the other group of Morgan Frost, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Farabee, Ivan Provorov and Phil Myers stirred. At one point, Frost was denied from in front on an impressive Halak glove save with his back to the play.
Overall, the Flyers were 0-for-5 on the power play, making them 0-for-13 in the preseason.
••• NOTES >> The Flyers will play the New York Rangers Saturday night at 7 in their final home game of the preseason. Monday night, they will be in Boston, hit Madison Square Garden next Thursday and finish the preseason the following Monday in Switzerland against Lausanne HC. … The regular season starts Oct. 4 in the Czech Republic against Chicago . ... The Flyers will play New Jersey Oct. 9 in their home opener.