Defensive workhorse Giordano eager to make Flames return
Let’s start with the good news …
Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano has served his time. After a two-game suspension, the defensive workhorse returns to the home lineup — to the top pairing, to the first power-play unit, to the short-handed staff, to the Norris Trophy conversation, etc., etc. — for Wednesday’s clash with the Philadelphia Flyers at the Saddledome.
“He’s probably our best player this season,” Flames forward Elias Lindholm said of Giordano. “He’s one of the best defencemen in the league, so obviously when you get one of those guys back, it’s going to help the team.” The Flames earned a weekend split — a victory over the Nashville Predators, followed by a shutout loss to the Oilers in Edmonton — while their captain served his two-game ban for a knee-on-knee hit on Mikko Koivu of the Minnesota Wild.
Giordano is averaging 24:29 of ice time per night this fall, nearly three minutes more than any of his pals, and the hope is the 35-yearold will be feeling fresh as a daisy after his forced sit-out.
“Obviously, you would have much rather played,” Giordano told reporters after Tuesday’s practice. “But hopefully looking back in a couple of months, this is a few-day break that sort of got my juice back. I took some rest, and hopefully it will help out in the long run.”
And now for the bad news … Flames coach Bill Peters was asked Tuesday about the status of four injured skaters — forwards Mikael Backlund (concussion protocol) and Michael Frolik (lower body) and blue-liners Michael Stone ( blood clot) and Juuso Valimaki (lower body) — and admitted none are especially close to returning to game action.
Backlund has been riding the exercise bike, so that’s a positive step.
“We’ll see, hopefully we get them back sooner than later,” Peters said. “But nobody this week, I don’t think.”